


Phantasy of the Heart

by Yumberduddle



Category: Phantasy Star IV
Genre: 69, Adultery, Bath Sex, Canon Divergence, Ears as an Erogenous Zone, Erotic Electrostimulation, F/F, Fingerfucking, Lesbian Sex, Masturbation, Multiple Orgasms, Mutual Masturbation, Numan Sex, Oral Sex, Orgasm from Foreplay, Phantasy Star IV As It Was Supposed To Be, Robot Sex, Romance, Scent Kink, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Roleplay, Shower Sex, Strap-Ons, Threesome - F/F/F, Tribadism, Under-Desk Cunnilingus, Vibrating Tongue, Yuri, knee grinding, leg grinding, mutual voyeurism, suction, sweaty sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:51:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yumberduddle/pseuds/Yumberduddle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love, Loss, and a Lot of Lust, this is the story of how Phantasy Star IV would have been if Alys had met Rika alone first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Igglanova was not nearly as dangerous the second time as the first. Knowing what it was capable of, and fighting it with more allies, some of whom had gained some decent battle experience since the first fight, had made this encounter such a walk in the park that Alys's mind actually drifted a little...enough that a thought came to her that wouldn't have if she'd been focused only on the battle.

"Hahn!" she called out to her companion, who was contemplating which spell to use next. "I didn't see the professor on the way here. He might be inside!"

It only took Hahn a split second to catch on. "And if this thing came from in there...who knows what else might be in there as well! The professor's in danger! We need to get in there, quick!"

Alys looked at the repulsive monster blocking their path, and at the archway it was planted in front of. Doing a quick calculation, she called back to Hahn, "It'll be 1000 meseta!"

"M...my wedding fund..."

"1000 meseta, yes or no!" she yelled. "I need to know NOW!"

Hahn gulped and nodded. Yelling to Chaz and Grys to stay and destroy Igglanova, Alys ran forward and put every ounce of strength she had into a leap. She managed to just clear Igglanova, and as she did, she grabbed the stones forming the arch above it and twisted her body forward to jacknife straight through the small space of entryway above that the monster did not block. Igglanova was too busy with Chaz and company to try to turn and stop her, and so she landed within and ran deeper without a problem. Chaz and the rest could catch up once they were done with the monster.

The cave did not stay a cave for very long, instead opening up into a bizarre labyrinth of glowing lights in perfectly-sculpted walls of steel and small rooms that traveled up and down when she entered them. Though the place was filled with helpful directions, it was disorienting, and filled with monsters of both flesh and steel. Alys did not let any of it distract her or slow her down as she searched the corridors, destroying what enemies she could, dodging and running from most others.

Finally, she heard the professor's voice further ahead, breathlessly calling out for someone, anyone, to help him. Alys finally arrived, to see him completely surrounded by the robotic guardians and mutated monstrosities of this labyrinth. As she took a split-second to decide how to make her attack, she also saw, a few feet from the professor in the opposite direction, a pink-haired woman with peculiar ears. From the look on the woman's face, Alys could tell that she had just arrived at the same moment, and was ready to help. An unspoken sentiment passed between them, and they each leaped forward to engage the enemies.

Alys's slicer was a blur of deadly motion, cutting through one mutant after another, as the pink-haired woman used her metal claw weapons to tear through the robots with surprising ease. She must be very strong, Alys thought to herself as she sliced a mutant to shreds. Seeing that one robot was going to get a back attack on the other woman, Alys threw herself forward and body-slammed it, managing to throw it off its attack enough to cause no harm to the other woman. In the process, though, she had attracted the attention of a different robot, which opened fire on her, and managed to graze her shoulder. Alys gritted her teeth and sent her weapon whirling forward to embed itself in her attacker, but almost immediately, her wound ceased hurting, and began to close itself. Alys saw that the other woman had her hand outstretched to Alys, and was glowing slightly--she had been the one to heal her.

After that moment, the two became a maelstrom of blades, fighting back to back, supporting one another, Alys using her experience as both a fighter and a commander to protect and cover for the other woman, while the strange-eared woman healed Alys's wounds as soon as they were inflicted. It was less like two people fighting than one person fighting in two bodies. The fight sent a thrill through Alys; this partner instinctually knew what she needed when, and could support her in ways that no other ever had. The connection was such an incredible feeling that when the final enemy fell, Alys felt profoundly disappointed that it was over.

Pushing such feelings from her mind, Alys returned to her professional mindset, and turned to the professor, who had sensibly stepped many feet back from the carnage. "Are you okay?" she asked, inwardly marveling that she was barely even breathing heavily--that fight had been more like a well-planned dance than a desperate battle, thanks to that woman's support!

"Y-Yes, I'm fine. Thanks, of course, to you, Ms. Brangwin, and you as well, Miss..."

The woman stared curiously at him, as though she didn't understand the implied question. Finally, the professor coughed, and asked, "Er, I'm sorry, Miss, but might I know your name?"

"I'm Rika," the woman said, introducing herself. "Pleased to meet you."

"Those ears...what on earth are you?" Alys asked before she could stop herself. "And what is this place?"

As Rika explained that they were currently in a thousand-year-old research station, Chaz, Grys, and Hahn arrived, having caught up to Alys, and introductions were made all around. As Rika finished her explanations and the group moved inward to meet Seed.

**\----4----4----4----4----**

A few days later, the group had arrived at Nalya, and were staying at the inn. They would be checking out the meteor that had crashed nearby in the morning, and Alys wanted the team fully rested and at their best. Chaz and Hahn had been gentlemen and paid extra so that Alys and Rika could have a room of their own (Grys didn't care one way or another). Rika was bathing in the bathroom, so Alys was lying on one of the beds alone, undressed down to her undergarments. She gazed up at the ceiling, not really looking at anything, her attention instead on her thoughts.

Traveling for the last few days with Rika had been...distracting. As they trekked across the landscape, Alys would spend more time watching the unique pink-haired woman than her own path. This had led to her stumbling clumsily on many occasions, so many that Chaz had privately asked her if she had sustained an injury that she was not telling the others about, and Grys had muttered under his breath at least once about the clumsiness of all non-native Motavians. Alys had thought it was a rather unfair statement, since Chaz, at least, was having no problem navigating the terrain, but with herself tripping up so often from being distracted, and Hahn tripping up just as often even though he actually WAS paying attention, she'd have trouble making a good case.

Tired of staring into nothingness in the direction of the ceiling, Alys rolled onto her side and tried staring into nothingness in the direction of the wall. Why was she reacting this way to Rika? Sure, the girl was attractive, there was no denying that. Very attractive, in fact, with those naive, soulful eyes, those strange but appealing large ears, and a body that, from what Alys could tell, was a beautiful blend of soft femininity and tough underlying muscle tone...

Alys noticed that she was gently running a hand over her covered breasts. She moved it away.

At any rate, yes, Rika was very attractive, one of the prettiest AND sexiest women Alys had ever known. But that should not have been a problem. Alys had journeyed with attractive women before without it ever compromising her focus. Under normal circumstances, she was sure she would be able to journey alongside Rika quite calmly, never once even giving a hint that she was interested. But there was more to Rika than just physical attractiveness...there was grace, and strength, and courage. She'd thrown herself to the defense of the professor with the same bravery that Alys herself prided herself on, and her movements in battle had been so quick, so sure, her strikes so devastating...she had followed Alys's every movement, supported Alys by healing her wounds as they were inflicted, covered her back from reprisal...

This time, Alys did not catch herself as her hand returned to her breasts.

That was what it was, wasn't it? What Alys felt so compelling about Rika was how they had met, how she'd gotten a first-hand experience of what it was like to truly fight as one with a partner, to have her strengths and weaknesses perfectly complimented and compensated. If she'd met Rika under normal circumstances, only ever fought with her in a group with Chaz, Grys, and Hahn, Alys doubted she'd have ever felt this way. But now that moment haunted her pleasantly, the thrill of battle, the pleasure of knowing she was doing good and saving a life, mingling and merging with Rika, turning them into a single entity...once more, Alys marveled at what an amazing feeling it had been! Chaz was a great partner, but she and he were simply two strengths working together. Rika had not just strength; hers was also the power of aid and enhancement, of support and encouragement, something that could do more than just work with strength

Singularity. A joining of two into one. Wasn't that what love was?

Alys frowned as the thought went through her head, even though it was joined from the light pleasure of a nipple caressed through her bra. No. Ridiculous! She wasn't in love, because she didn't WANT to be in love. She wasn't going to go through that again. Not since Saya. Love was nice, but it wasn't so nice that it was worth its pain. Much of love's pleasures could be found without the burden of love itself. Good company, friendship, sex...Alys had enjoyed these things many times since Saya, without the fear of love's betrayal.

Saya. Alys frowned again, and this time her hand fell away from her breast. It had been years ago, but that day was still clear in her mind...Alys had been young, far less experienced than Chaz was right now, taking on her very first jobs. She'd loved the excitement and fulfillment of work as a Hunter just as much then as she did now, but back then, she'd loved one thing, one person, even more. Saya. Kind, thoughtful, considerate, filled with noble ambitions...a beautiful person inside and out, and Alys had taken such pride in knowing that she was the one that this woman loved. Until that day.

It had been abrupt and painful. Saya had never told her why, and Alys had been too utterly stunned, heartbroken, to press her for a reason. A simple apology, a simple statement. "I don't love you any more." Tears in their eyes, though only Alys shed them. And then it was done...Saya had left for her home, and soon after had left for another town.

That was why Alys didn't love. Why she wouldn't. Because it hurt too much to lose. And it never stopped hurting! She'd thought it had been in the past, but just recently she'd learned that the pain could follow her, could attack her without warning! Alys had been almost unable to speak when Hahn had introduced his fiancée, had only been able to give a dazed, strangled repetition of the word. And then, Saya had...had kissed Hahn, right in front of Alys and Chaz. It had almost been too much, but Alys had managed to keep her head and give no sign of how difficult this was.

Alys shook her head, clearing it of the difficult feelings welling up within her. Enough. Back on subject. This was about Rika, and her feelings for her. Which were not love! Alys was strong and she was independent of anyone else, and she liked it that way. She liked enjoying women, having fun with them, and never going further than that. She liked having friends, but having the closest thing to love be her motherly feelings toward her protege Chaz. Her life right now was good, and this...this infatuation with Rika would die down as she got used to her. No doubt things would be back to the status quo soon enough. Until then, she would just have to...deal with this situation.

Speaking of "dealing with" the situation...Alys gazed at the bathroom door. This was the first time she'd been at an inn with Rika. She didn't know the girl's habits, such as how long she took to bathe. Still...thinking about her had made Alys decidedly horny, and Rika might be in there for some time still. It would be very frustrating if she got started and had to stop only halfway done, but Alys decided to go for it anyway. She scooted up and then under her covers, to be safe. Her blanket was a little more coarse than she usually liked, but for someone quite used to sleeping out in the elements, it would not be a problem.

Satisfied that she was hidden under her bedding, Alys let her hands gently roam the length of her body, starting with a soft, sensual stroke at her neckline, and going as far down her thigh as she could without bending her back or knees. She enjoyed what she felt. She enjoyed the firmness of her flesh, the contours of her muscles, an attractive showing of the strength she'd earned over her active life. She enjoyed the bumps and ridges of her scars, small and large, gained from countless desperate battles and each one just a little more sensitive than her unmarked flesh, providing a constant, almost ticklish rhythm of extra sensation as her fingers grazed them. She liked the thrill of feeling the gentle touch of tough, capable digits slowly tracing over her, and she liked the feeling of a strong body to touch.

What would Rika be like, she wondered as she enjoyed the first true tickles of arousal at her caresses. Would she be tough and strong like this body, pliant but only with effort? Rika was strong and agile, so maybe. Or would she be soft and smooth, flawless as her feminine curves implied? That would be delightful, too. Would her fingers on Alys be like these ones, strong and sure and gently aggressive? Rika was a fighter, a ferocious one, getting closer and more savage with her claw weapons to her enemies than any of the others did. But she was kind, and sweet, a gentle soul...perhaps she would be slow and careful, with soft fingers that would push almost futilely against Alys's tough skin.

Alys took a moment to divest herself of her bra, and in the process decided that Rika would be tough like her, with eager, firm hands, also like herself. Alys wanted to be able to immerse herself as much as she could into this fantasy tonight, to help clear her mind of this obsession. The article of clothing off and placed down beside her, Alys let out a pleased sigh. It was always nice to let the girls out. It was warm under the blanket, so her small but turgid nipples were evidence only of her arousal...not that she needed any visual confirmation. Alys moved a hand to each breast, cupping it gently, and let out another pleased sigh. Just this alone felt very good. She was really excited tonight.

She took a moment simply to feel them, weigh them in her hand. As before, Alys appreciated the appeal of her own body. Her gently rounded C-cup breasts were practically the only soft thing on her body, but she liked the contrast, enjoyed this one particularly womanly part of herself. They were soft and pleasant to hold (and it was certainly pleasant to have them held!), a size both manageable and quintessentially feminine. What would it be like to hold Rika's, she wondered? Similar, surely, but from what she could tell, Rika's were larger. Larger enough that it would be different. Alys would just have to fantasize that it was Rika holding hers.

Alys began to move her hands, still keeping them cupped around her breasts. Her orbs moved and molded with her, and she moaned very lightly. Her tiny, stiff nipples were dragging across the blanket's underside, and the slightly rougher fabric was very stimulating. In her mind, Alys saw Rika above her, hands upon Alys's breasts, close enough that it was Rika's clothing that Alys's nips were rubbing so pleasurably against. True, Rika wore leather armor, not conventional fabric, but Alys's imagination didn't particularly care.

She could have stayed like that until she drifted off to sleep, really. This gentle groping, this soft pleasure, this happy fantasy of Rika pressed against her, making love...Alys was in a very pleasant realm between pleasure and calm, and as she floated along with her pleasing imagination, she almost decided not to take it further. This low stage of self-pleasure had already calmed her, satisfied her emotions. But, Alys decided, that wasn't going to be where she stopped. She wanted to get Rika out of her head as completely as possible, so she would finish this, get it all out here and now.

Alys took her left hand away from her breast, and brought her fingers to her lips. She ran her tongue over the tips of her first three fingers, then put them in her mouth for a moment, as though sucking upon them. A moment later they were good and wet, and she took them out again, and placed them back on her breast, only this time, they rested squarely atop her nipple. Her imaginary Rika was getting feisty now, and these fingers would be her mouth. They began to flick her nipple, gently at first, then with harder and faster zeal, simulating Rika's tongue. Alys moaned once more, slightly louder this time, and she became aware of a slight dampness between her legs as the zone began to tingle. She then took her little nipple between her moist fingers, and very lightly squeezed.

"Rika!" she whispered unconsciously as a small shock of pleasure jolted her, her mind imagining Rika sucking upon the small peak. No longer was her masturbation a calm pleasure. Now she was heated, excited, wanting! Her other hand came to her mouth now, and she wetted her fingers in the same way, and brought them down to the unattended breast. Tweaking the nipple between these newly moistened digits, she let out a slight whimper. Rika's mouth was now on both her nipples at the same time, sucking and even nipping at them as Alys rubbed and squeezed and even pinched them over and over. True, Rika could not have actually had her head in two different places at the same time, but again, Alys's imagination did not particularly care.

The next step was very clear by now, from the growing urgency of the pulses she was feeling from between her legs. Alys removed her left hand from her breast, ignoring the feeling of loss at the stimulation's end, and brought it quickly down to her hips. Pulling at her panties' hem and lifting her legs, her remaining undergarment was quickly removed, and her neatly-shaven flower exposed. It was just as she had settled back to take things to the next level that the bathroom door opened. Alys quickly brought her hands away from herself, glad that she had the visual protection of her blanket.

"Hi, Alys," Rika greeted her with a smile, walking out from the bathroom with wet, tousled hair and the slight sheen of post-shower cleanliness on her skin.

"Hello, Rika," Alys replied as calmly as she could, even though her body was already making her very aware of its frustration at being cut off just as it was really getting started. The fact that Rika was currently wearing nothing more than a towel wrapped around her was not helping. "Did you enjoy your shower?"

"Very much, thank you," Rika replied, going over to her bed and sitting down on its edge. "It was different from the decontamination sessions I've always had before, much more relaxing. It was very interesting to rub the soap on myself and put the shampoo in my hear. Seed always used to put soap into the water itself, and had water coming from all around me, so I didn't have to do anything. I like doing it myself, though...it's relaxing."

"I see," Alys managed to mumble, as her mind suddenly became stuck on the image of Rika running the soap along her body in the shower.

Rika didn't say anything for a few minutes, and just stared at Alys. Alys was still too lost in the mental image to really notice. Then, Rika said something that cut through Alys's daydream. "Alys, do you hate me?"

Shocked that Rika would even consider the possibility, Alys replied, "What? No, of course not! What on Motavia gave you that idea?"

Rika frowned, as though trying to determine the solution to a puzzle. "Well, are you...afraid of me, then?"

"No, definitely not!" Alys insisted, frowning herself. She wished she could sit up, but she was still stark naked under her covers. She knew it didn't matter too terribly much in the presence of another woman, but she'd rather keep her modesty if she could. "What's putting these ideas in your head, Rika?"

Rika shrugged, and Alys tried very, very hard not to notice that this movement caused one side of it to lower just enough to see the top of Rika's areola. Alys gulped and her body heated more than ever at the realization that the fabric's resting on Rika's nipple might be the only thing keeping it up.

"It's just...your voice," Rika explained. She pointed with one finger at her unique ears. "I think I'm only noticing it because I can hear so much better than the rest of you, but when you talk to me, your voice is a little different than when you're talking to Chaz, or Hahn, or Grys. It's...I don't know how to describe it. It seems a little more intense, somehow, sometimes a little higher-pitched. I was just wondering why, and I was worried it might be because you don't like me.

"It really showed in your voice just a moment ago," Rika added. "And I heard you say my name while I was in the other room, too, in the same kind of way."

Alys's mind raced. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Her feelings for Rika (by which she of course meant only physical attraction and nothing else, Alys reminded herself sternly), were obviously leaking into her tone when she spoke to the pink-haired woman. She wouldn't have thought it was noticeable, but obviously Rika's ears were not just for show. So what should she do? She could always just tell Rika that it was nothing to worry about, and leave it at that, and they could continue along as they had...

Rika shifted her seat on the bed slightly, and the towel fell a little further.

Or, Alys decided, she could own up to it, go for it, and try to score with this gorgeous, barely-clothed girl staring at her in the cutest way. Yeah, she knew which she was going to choose.

"You want to know why I sound different when I talk to you, Rika?" Alys asked, her tone lowering to a husky, rolling purr, one that she knew from long experience could turn on a woman like turning a faucet's handle. She sat up a bit, resting on her elbows, still mostly covered by her blanket, with only her bare shoulders peeking out. Rika nodded, and Alys smiled, closed her eyes, and turned to her side, got off the bed, and stood, letting her blanket fall away in the same slow, sensual pace of her movements. She opened her eyes and looked directly into Rika's. "It's because every time I see you, every time I even think of you, I want to do this."

Alys leaned down and captured Rika's lips in a kiss. She didn't try to overplay it and add any tongue (there would be time for that later), but it was deep and sensual, an intense pressing that conveyed the perfect combination of carnal want and a promise of tender care and pleasure. Alys had yet to meet a woman who could receive this kiss and not want more. Rika gave a little squeak of surprise, but a moment later relaxed into the kiss, closing her eyes and pressing back.

After a minute or two, Alys slowly pulled away, smiling gently down at Rika, but with clear hunger in her eyes. "And that's not all I want to do, Rika. I want to do so much more, every time I see you, you beautiful little minx! And now that we're alone...if you don't object, babe, I think it's time to indulge myself!"

As she finished saying this, Alys grabbed Rika's towel and whisked it off her body in one sudden motion. Rika let out another surprised squeak, but made no attempt to cover herself with her hands and arms like most women would have, no doubt another example of an upbringing by an AI rather than "normal" society. And Alys was very thankful for this fact, because Rika's body was nothing short of amazing. Alys had been with women, many of them, from all walks of life. Some had led more comfortable, easy lives than others, but on the world of Motavia, no one, not even the most gentle and sheltered of women like Saya, lived to adulthood without life marking them in some way. A few small scars, an asymmetrical feature, always there was something that life on the desert planet had inflicted on them.

But not Rika. Rika, born and raised in a perfectly sheltered environment, only exposed to rough terrain, bad weather, and monsters in the last couple of days, was absolutely flawless. Alys swallowed as her eyes roamed the perfect, smooth, unbroken skin, still carrying a slight moist sheen from the shower, of the woman sitting below her, her seduction almost forgotten. In many ways, this was the most beautiful woman on this planet...

"S-So...what else...did you want to do?" Rika finally asked, smiling in a nervous but excited way. Obviously she had enjoyed that kiss.

Alys shook herself out of her trance. There was no need to be so entranced by Rika's body now, for she was about to explore it firsthand!

Alys laid her hands on Rika's smooth, rounded shoulders and gently pushed the pink-haired girl down, then moved forward to straddle her, making sure that she dragged herself against Rika's smooth legs and thighs as she did. Rika had strength, Alys could feel its evidence lurking behind that unmarked skin...but her surface was soft and smooth, and Alys thrilled at the sensation of her own skin in contact with it. Running her hands along her smooth body, she felt herself grow more aroused by the slight shudder of the figure under her, the ripple of that gorgeous body against her own. Leaning in, she gently flicked her tongue along the edge of Rika’s right ear, getting a soft moan in response. Moving over to the other side, she did the same, and got another moan. Alys made a mental note that Rika's ears were as sensitive as they were alluringly pronounced.

The intense need between her legs was back, and with a vengeance. Unable to really resist her need, Alys began to grind her hips slowly, against Rika's torso. She could have moved herself lower, could have aligned their womanhoods for this, but no...as nice as that could be, as romantic (not romantic! Sensual! This wasn't romantic!) as that could be, when she brought Rika to her peak, Alys wanted to be there at ground zero, to see it all happen close up. The firm muscles coated with silk smooth skin was like heaven against Alys's needy core, especially compared to the rough fabric of the blanket she'd recently been in contact with. Rika cooed meekly at the strange but delightful new sensations, in particular the delicate caresses against her ears, which she was discovering were just as sensitive to touch as to sound.

Alys moved in for another kiss, gently pressing her lips against Rika’s. She felt a spark running through her; Rika was kissing back. it was a simple kiss, as before, but there was a heat behind it that defied words.

Breaking away, Alys brought her hands to Rika’s chest. Like the rest of her skin, her breasts were still a bit wet from the shower, and even a bit warm. They had a wonderful give that let her fingers sink in. Every small touch drew new sounds out of her partner. Just as when she was playing with herself, this could easily have satisfied the hunter, but she wanted so much more. Grinding her hips a bit harder, she shifted her position lower, now pressing herself against Rika's thigh, so that she could take one of Rika’s small, pink nipples in her mouth. She gently suckled. Rika let out a high-pitched, whimpering purr that was so erotically adorable that Alys very nearly came then and there.

No, she told herself. Not yet. She wanted to make this last.

Alys's mouth was only on the nipple for a moment, only suckling it and swirling her tongue around it momentarily. She pulled away, and repeated the action on the other, again driving an intoxicating high-pitched purr from her lover (no, partner), but again, only for a moment. As she lifted her mouth away, Rika quietly asked her, "Please, Alys, please do that again? It was so nice, I, I want more, please!"

Alys smiled, gently but with obvious seductive intent. "In good time, babe...first I'd like to explore."

And explore she did. Alys lifted herself higher, kissed Rika's forehead and cute little nose. She ran her tongue below each ear gently, and was pleased to hear more moans from the woman below her; it seemed the skin below the ear was sensitive, too. She trailed a hand gently over Rika's cheeks and softly lined her lips with a finger, taking in the flawless detail through touch. Then Alys brought herself a little lower, and began to lightly kiss the nape of Rika's neck, and trail her tongue along the other woman's throat, thrilling at the vibrations she felt as Rika let out whimpers and shaking breaths. As she did this, her hands each explored the rounded shoulders below her, taking in their curves, their soft skin, the solid bone beneath.

She did this for an indeterminable amount of time, exploring this lovely woman through touch, committing each inch of her to memory. She was unhurried, even as she pressed gradually harder and faster against Rika's thigh. She placed her face between Rika's soft, round breasts and breathed deep of her valley's air, then dipped her tongue against the skin there, while Alys's hands ran themselves down Rika's sides, softly taking in the length of her flawless flesh. Alys kissed her elbows, licked her fingers, gently ran fingers through Rika's palms and pressed her own palms against the woman's back gently from top to bottom, grasped Rika's small, yet soft posterior as she stroked her tongue against Rika's belly and lower chest, kissed the spot where Rika's belly button should have been (an artificially grown life form, indeed!) while her hands went lower, stroked the outside and front of her thighs. Eventually Alys had to remove herself from Rika's skin, leaving a sheen of her arousal upon the woman's leg that she then ran her tongue over. If Rika had any reaction to Alys's audacity at savoring her own sexual fluids, she didn't make it known, though by this point she was shaking and purring constantly, so it would have been hard to tell. Even as Alys's body cried out in loss at being taken from Rika's thigh, and demanded satisfaction, Alys bent Rika's legs up, laying kisses upon the front and back of her knees, and gently grasped at her calves. She finished by kissing each of Rika's perfect little toes in succession, and giving her two big ones a quick suckle. All the while, Alys would occasionally tweak one of Rika's nipples with her fingers, or move her head over to give them a quick flick of her tongue, keeping the pleasure fully on Rika's mind the whole time.

In this way, Alys committed to her memory forever the flawless perfection of Rika in this moment. She knew she would never have another chance to. She would have sex with Rika again, hopefully, but the next time she did so, the woman was sure to have been marked at least a few times by the harsh obstacles of their journey and world. It was miraculous luck that she had not yet been given a scarring wound. This was Alys's one chance to fully appreciate a body free of flaws, and now she could be satisfied that she had taken full advantage of this opportunity.

Finally finished, Alys rose up and looked down at the woman on the bed, lovingly watching Rika's chest swell and fall rapidly with each excited breath, listening to the desperate pleas of her purrs and heavy breathing, taking in the sight of moisture making that beautiful skin glisten, moisture that was no longer residual from the shower, but instead perspiration and the wake of Alys's oral explorations.

"And now," Alys whispered, her own voice heavy and throaty with desire, "let me show you what I want to do with you the most."

She knelt once more, and brought her lips down to the one place on Rika that she had not explored yet: her smooth, hairless (was it shaved or natural, Alys wondered...could be either way with a different lifeform) crotch. Her tongue slowly, languidly lowered, and began to circle around the woman's slightly puffy labia, and Rika threw her head back and let out a shuddering, purring moan. Alys circled her opening a few times, increasing the already hopelessly needy woman's desire, before finally pushing her tongue inside. Rika nearly jumped from the bed at this, and cried out. Alys set to exploring her sweet vagina, and was shocked by just how delicious it was. Rika's sexual fluids tasted of strawberries, distinctly so, more than any woman Alys had been with before had ever resembled any taste. Inordinately fond of both strawberries and sexually gratifying women, Alys began to swirl her tongue around, poking, prodding, lashing it quickly and then slowly applying pressure, eager to taste every droplet she could and to bring more as quickly as possible. Rika was moaning constantly now, gripping the sheets of the bed tightly with her hands and calling out Alys's name. She was close, Alys knew it, and it was time to finish this--

Suddenly, Alys felt Rika's insides clamp around her tongue with a strength and desperation that could only mean one thing: Rika had hit her peak, and was coming. The near-voiceless shriek that suddenly tore its way from Rika's throat confirmed it. Alys's eyes widened in surprise as she eagerly caught the ensuing tiny stream of cum with her entrapped, thrashing tongue. She kept licking through Rika's orgasm, giving the woman as much pleasure to ride out as possible, before finally drawing away as Rika laid panting, still trembling a little. Alys savored the strawberry liquid in her mouth for a moment, and swallowed.

Rika could orgasm from vaginal pleasure alone! Lucky girl; Alys could count on one hand the number of lovers she'd had who could do so without attention to their clit.

"So, did you like that?" Alys asked Rika, sexily but redundantly. Rika nodded weakly, but said nothing more than a mewling groan. Having achieved her goal of satisfying Rika, Alys now felt her own wetness all the more prominently, and Rika's adorable, high-pitched noises weren't helping matters. "Would you like more?" Rika nodded, and Alys cheered inwardly. "In that case, would you be up for making me feel good, too?"

Rika nodded again, and managed to say, "Yes, I...I'd love to. Oh, Alys, that was so wonderful, thank you so much..."

"You're welcome, sexy," Alys told her, getting onto the bed. She repositioned herself so that she was above Rika, looking down on her only recently settled pussy, with her own right above Rika's face. Before she began, Alys instructed her, "Don't worry about disappointing me, just do your best and I'll enjoy it very much no matter what. But please try to hit that little button right above my opening, okay? That's what's going to make me feel good the most."

Rika nodded, and replied, "Um, y-yes, Alys, I...I know. I don't know how, but I know what you mean."

With that, Alys lowered herself to Rika's smooth cunny. This time, she didn't bother with going within, and instead began to circle her tongue around Rika's prominent little clit. Rika moaned, and suddenly Alys felt Rika's tongue within her vagina, lapping away at her insides. It felt so, so good, and was finally the kind of stimulation that her body had been wanting this whole time. Alys groaned and closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to simply enjoy the sensations pulsing through her. Then, she darted her tongue out against Rika's clit.

Rika's body jerked, and she squealed into Alys's depths, which was a nice feeling itself. Alys did it again, and got a similar reaction. She then began to lash her tongue back and forth against the little pleasure button, and Rika began to moan louder than ever, even than when she had been coming before. A moment later, Alys knew exactly how she felt as Rika placed a finger against Alys's own clit and began to rub it in circles.

The pleasure was so much, so needed, that Alys nearly couldn't keep conscious. Clenching her jaw in determination in the face of such pleasure, she began to lick harder and faster at Rika's clit, which caused Rika to howl into her pussy and begin tapping her clit, hard. The two women began to rock back and forth in unison, each one's thighs moving to lock the other's head in place. They both held out as long as they could, not wanting this pleasure to end, ever, even as Alys could feel the rush of orgasm approaching. She held it off as long as possible, as much as she could, feeling it building up against her, threatening to overflow. She couldn't...keep it up...

At the same time, Alys drew Rika's clit into her mouth and sucked upon it, and Rika grabbed Alys's and lightly pinched it. Their faces clenched in helpless pleasure as their bodies seized up and began to spasm in pure heaven, Alys gripping Rika's tongue as Rika had gripped hers before, Alys hastily shoving a finger into Rika to give her something to pleasurably squeeze. They both screamed the same pitched, helpless cry of blissful woe, their minds on nothing but pleasure and love for the woman they were connected to.

Finally, as their bodies slowed, their minds came down and returned to their control, as a different pleasure washed over them, the pleasure of satisfaction and quiet of post-climax happiness, they separated, and laid together in the bed, Alys holding Rika against her protectively, possessively, needingly, and Rika snuggling up into that embrace. The second bed was forgotten, the covers were forgotten, the unextinguished light was forgotten. All that mattered in that moment was the other, and the words that one of them spoke as they drifted to sleep.

"I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written as part of a trade with another author. It was originally posted to Adult-Fanfiction.org, but their terrible format changes recently have put me off enough that I will be re-uploading all existing chapters here at AO3, and all future chapters of this story will be posted only on this site. I hope you enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

When Alys woke up the next morning, lying in the Nalya inn bed with her arms and legs wrapped around the lovely, flawless body of Rika, she felt warm, happy, and satisfied, and her heart seemed to beat with a slow, contented thrum. She drew the pink-haired beauty closer, and breathed in the scent of her hair deeply, reveling in its deep richness.  
  
Then Alys froze as she remembered how she had gotten here, and more importantly, what had been said at the end of the previous night. The sleepy, carefree smile on her face twisted downward into a scowl, and she carefully extricated herself from Rika, silently getting out of bed so as to let the other woman continue to sleep.  
  
Had it been she herself who had whispered, "I love you," last night?  
  
Surely not, she decided as she slipped on her undergarments, dressed, and slipped on her armor. It must have been Rika who had said it. That would make much more sense, Rika being as naive and emotionally straightforward as she was. Even in the short time that Rika had been traveling with Alys and her group, her positive, open nature had been quite charming--er, obvious, to Alys.  
  
Well, there was one way to find out. Alys walked back over to the bed, and looked down tenderly at Rika's sleeping form. Once again she stopped to admire its perfect beauty. The woman's soft flesh was an impossibility, flawlessly and beautifully curved and womanly, yet so clearly toned and strong. She looked so peaceful...  
  
Alys shook her head and bent down to wake her new companion. She laid an armored hand upon the woman and shook firmly to rouse her...or at least, that was what Alys had been planning to do, but somehow the awakening shake became a series of soft kisses against Rika's neck. The non-human girl's eyes fluttered as she awakened.  
  
"Oh...good morning, Alys," Rika greeted the bounty hunter with a smile as the sleep gradually fell from her eyes.  
  
"Good morning yourself," Alys told her, unable to keep from smiling back.  
  
Rika looked up at her expectantly, and suddenly Alys felt lost. What had been her plan here? Say, "Hey, Toots, was it me or you that said the L word last night? Because if it was me, I just wanted to say that I totally didn't mean it at all?"  
  
Thankfully, Rika broke the awkward silence before Alys had time to stand looking like a fool for much longer. "Is it time to go investigate the meteorite? I'll get dressed."  
  
Alys nodded mutely, and watched the young woman get dressed. Rika cut such a fine figure in her battle armor that it almost wasn't a tragedy to cover her lovely form.  
  
Well, Rika hadn't volunteered any information about who had said what the night before, and Alys wasn't sure how to ask without embarrassing herself and/or hurting Rika's feelings, so she decided to just drop it for now. She left Rika to finish getting ready, and went to fetch the rest of her party.

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
Keeping the matter out of her mind proved to be very difficult to do, though. As the group traveled through the corridors and walkways of the structure they'd found within the meteorite, abandoned but for the robotic guards that attacked Alys and her friends at nearly every step, the situation kept coming back into Alys's mind. It wasn't her fault, really...every time Rika leaped into battle, her metal claws carving through robotic steel, Alys would be reminded of their first battle together, and admire her power and grace all over again. This, of course, just brought her mind back to the feelings of connection she'd formed with Rika at that time, and then to the events of the night before.  
  
_(Stupid sexy Rika)_ , Alys thought to herself. _(How am I supposed to concentrate on anything else with her around?)_  
  
What was she worried about, though? Surely it was Rika who had said it, Alys argued to herself as she hurled her slicer into an enemy even more distracted, though for a different reason, by Rika's attacks than Alys herself was. If Rika brought it up later on, Alys would only have to gently let her understand that her interest was only physical to settle the matter. And if it really had been Alys who had said it...well, what of it? People got overwhelmed by sex sometimes, said things they didn't really mean as they were caught up with the moment. It hadn't been something Alys herself had really ever done before, but obviously there was a first time for everything. She was making a bigger deal out of this than she really had to.  
  
Alys's attention was called back to the battle as Rika dashed toward her, sinking her claws into an enemy that had been sneaking up behind Alys. In turn, Alys hurled her slicer through another enemy that had turned its guns toward Rika. As Grys, Hahn, and Chaz worked their way through a new cluster of enemies, Rika and Alys once again found themselves fighting side by side, Rika tearing foes near them apart, Alys ricocheting her deadly weapon off and through the foes at a distance. They turned together, dodged together, watched one another's back, and though the adrenaline rushed through Alys as it would in any heated battle, she once again felt that incredible connection with Rika, the camaraderie of an ally who could truly support her in combat, the feeling of herself and Rika becoming a single fighting unit together. It was like she could feel every strike Rika made as though she had done it herself, knew every attack Rika was planning to make and how she expected Alys to assist her, and even when Rika could not move out of the way in time and an enemy shot grazed her thigh, Alys almost could feel the other woman's pain, even as she threw her slicer at the offending robot. Alys's momentary cover attack gave Rika all the time she needed to push herself past the pain, and she sprang back into action.  
  
A few minutes later, Rika and Alys were finished with their foes, just as the boys finished their last opponent off, as well. Alys knelt down to look at Rika's bleeding wound, and began applying a Dimate to it. "Are you alright, Rika?" she asked. She was not concerned about the girl's overall health from a small wound like this, but this was almost certainly the first time that Rika had ever really been injured, and Alys was concerned for her mental state. No matter how well-prepared and trained someone was, the first painful dose of the realities of combat could be difficult to handle.  
  
But Rika just gritted her teeth and smiled down at Alys as the healing item took effect, and nodded. "I'm fine. Let's keep going."  
  
_(She's a tough little warrior)_ , Alys thought fondly to herself.

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
It had been a long and tiring day. Making their way to the center of the crashed meteorite had been a difficult enough task, but what Alys's group had learned of its origins, and the history of their solar system, was a lot to wrap one's mind around, and had weighed heavily on them as they trudged back to Nalya. This time it was Alys who had offered to pay extra for two separate rooms, and her companions were happy to let her...it was not a day that anyone wanted to spend arguing about who would share a bed with who, and who would be forced to sleep on the floor.  
  
Alys lay back on the bed in her full armor, just taking a moment to rest before she properly prepared for sleep. A few feet away, Rika had begun to remove her equipment. Alys watched, and her conflict, which had actually been driven out of her head for the past few hours after learning of Parma's fate and its worldship evacuation, came back to her. Here they were again, in the same room, in almost the same situation...she might as well ask Rika now. There was no avoiding it.  
  
Alys frowned. Why was there no avoiding it? She'd been obsessing all day over the supposed inevitability of this conversation, of either letting Rika down gently or retracting her own statement, but why did she think that this had to happen at all? So far Rika had not brought the last night up at all, or behaved differently around Alys, or done anything in the slightest to indicate that she even was thinking about their coupling. It was actually pretty odd, really. But if Rika had no interest in bringing it up, why did Alys keep thinking it couldn't be avoided?  
  
_(Because I WANT to talk about it)_ , Alys admitted to herself, annoyed both that she could not run from this realization any longer, and that she had been running from it at all. _(Because no matter whether I said I loved her or she said she loved me, I know how I feel and I want to make it known!)_  
  
Alys did not want to love. She did not like love, she did not want to risk it hurting her as it had before with Saya. But it was time to stop using that desire to run away. She had to face the facts: whether or not she wanted to, she was falling in love with Rika, and she couldn't help it. The woman's innocent, cheerful kindness, the way they connected as warriors who both fought with and supported one another...and of course, the fact that Rika was possibly the most attractive creature Alys had ever seen didn't hurt. She wasn't in love with Rika, not deeply and intimately as she had been with Saya, but Alys was on her way, and she knew it, and even if she didn't want it, it was pointless to keep denying it.  
  
"Alys?" Rika suddenly said, breaking the mutual silence.  
  
"Yes?" Alys replied, suddenly brought out of her head and back to reality.  
  
"I'm sorry I've been acting weird today," Rika told her, turning around and showing Alys an expression of apology and hesitation.  
  
"You are?" Alys responded, not sure what Rika was talking about.  
  
Rika nodded, and looked down at the ground. "Yes. I know I've...been sort of ignoring you. Not ignoring you, exactly, because we spoke in the worldship's control room, and this morning, but you know what I mean. I...I've been avoiding talking to you about last night. I appreciate that you haven't been pushing me about it.  
  
"The truth is, when you said you loved me, I didn't know what to say or do," Rika went on, still not raising her eyes. "Some of the things Seed taught me about and had me read involved people who were in love, but I don't...really know much about it. I don't know what it feels like, or what you're supposed to do when you're in love, and I've been worrying about it all day, thinking about what my feelings are, and what I should say and do, and trying to remember how it worked from what I'd read and heard about..."  
  
Rika lifted her eyes from the ground, and looked Alys full in the eyes, smiling and unafraid. "Alys, I don't know how to be in love, and I don't know what to say or do with someone I love. I don't know what love feels like. But I do like you very much, and I like how you make me feel, especially how you made me feel last night, and I like it when we're together, and I want to make you happy and feel good the way you make me happy and feel good. I don't know if that means I love you, but I want to. So if that's enough for you, then...well, I don't know if this is the right way to say it, but let's be in love!"  
  
That answered one question, at least. Alys felt like bursting out into laughter. She hadn't ever considered the possibility, but it looked like Rika had been just as caught up in self-doubts and questioning her feelings as Alys had been! It looked like they were more connected than she'd thought.  
  
Chuckling, Alys got up and pulled Rika to her, hugging her soft form against her. "Girlfriends," Alys told her softly. "That's the way to say it. You'll be my girlfriend, and I'll be yours."  
  
A happy shiver ran through Rika, and she said softly, practically mewling, "I'm glad to be your girlfriend, then."  
  
Rika leaned upward, and gave Alys a gentle kiss upon her lips. Alys responded in kind, melting into the pleasure of Rika's soft lips. After a moment, Rika pulled away, and asked shyly, "Alys, can we do the thing we did last night? I've been...been thinking about how wonderful you made me feel all day, and the more that I think about it, the more I want it..."  
  
"Babe," Alys grinned, stepping back and away from her new lover, "I promise that we can, and will, have as much sex as we want and can handle from here on out. But before we do tonight...we've both been trudging about all day in heavy armor, fighting killer robots and sweltering under the sun's heat. We're both sweaty and dirty, and while we definitely won't always have the option with all the traveling we do on this hot, dirty planet, I think we'll both enjoy this a lot more if we're clean for it. Let's take a shower first."  
  
"Oh, okay," Rika said, hiding her disappointment. She actually thought that Alys smelled absolutely heavenly right now, enjoying the heady scent of her hard day's work on her, but she supposed she did feel a little dirty at the moment, and that it would be nice to be fresh for sex (that was what Alys had called it) like she had been last night. "Who should go first?"  
  
Alys smiled slyly. "Actually, I was thinking it might be a good idea if we both shared the shower."  
  
"Oh, what a good idea!" Rika replied, clapping her hands together. "That way we can start making each other feel good that much sooner!"  
  
Absolutely charmed by Rika's naivety, Alys chuckled. "You have no idea how much sooner."  
  
Alys began removing her armor as Rika stepped into the bathroom to get the water going. Alys stepped into the small room as Rika was finishing removing her undergarments. Alys followed her example, as Rika stepped into the shower and began to wash herself. Once she was nude as well, she stepped forward to enter the shower, but stopped. She just wanted to watch Rika for a moment, watch her beautiful nude body glisten under the water jetting against it, watch the rivulets as they traveled down her form in a series of streams, carrying the thousands of tiny suds she was lathering herself with down along her gorgeously soft, feminine, strong warrior body. Alys just took a moment to appreciate the simple scene of beauty in front of her, the innocence of the woman before her engaged simply in washing. In a moment, Alys would be teaching Rika what a woman could expect and enjoy from a shower when her lover was sharing the room...this would be Alys's first and last chance to watch Rika innocently clean herself in this situation. Every time after this, Rika would know and expect what was coming...not that there was anything wrong with that, Alys thought to herself with a private grin.  
  
Having etched into her mind the simple, elegant beauty of this scene to her satisfaction, Alys stepped into the shower, standing behind Rika. Right way, the feeling of the hot water running down her body sent an immediate sense of relief through her, physically and mentally. One never realized just how much dirt weighed one down until it was washed away in soothing heat, Alys reflected. She stood for a moment, and just let it cleanse and refresh her.  
  
"There's only one soap," Rika's voice echoed up and through the small space, above the rushing sound of water. "We'll have to share it."  
  
Alys gently wrapped her arms around Rika, crossing them over one another and gently drawing the woman back to press firmly against her own body. She placed a kiss against the back of Rika's head, tenderly pressing her lips against her hair, which was darkened and matted down from the water. Rika's breath caught in happy surprise as Alys whispered, "That sounds fun."  
  
"Alys..." Rika purred in that charming way she had.  
  
"Let's start with my arms," Alys suggested, speaking directly into Rika's ear now so that she could be heard over the pattering of the water. "They're a bit busy holding you right now, so I think you'll have to do it."  
  
Rika nodded, and gently ran the soap over Alys's strong arms, leaving a trail of bubbles washing down them. Alys kissed her girlfriend's ears as she did so, and Rika gasped and mewled in delight each time she did.  
  
"I think they're clean enough now," Alys told her after a minute or two. "Let me return the favor. Run the soap through my hands, and we'll get you all clean."  
  
Rika did so, pressing the bar against Alys's palms  and rubbing back and forth, getting them slick with its bubbles. Alys then raised her hands to Rika's face and neck. With her left hand, she gently slid her fingers along Rika's cheeks and jaw, while her right hand trailed itself along her collar. Rika sighed at the pleasing touches, and Alys began to lay down a line of kisses along the trails she had created over Rika's face and collar. The soap gave her kisses a slightly bitter taste, but Alys was far too caught up with the moment to notice or care.  
  
"Again," she whispered, and Rika once more rubbed her hands with the bar, this time with more vigor. Alys once more applied her soapy hands to Rika, this time raising her hands to gently cup and caress Rika's perfectly rounded breasts, running her fingers along their smooth flesh, tracing patterns against them, as she listened to the pleased whimpers of her girlfriend at the sensations. Alys traced sudsy circles around and around her aureoles, until finally she gently ran a finger against their perky centers. Rika let out a yowling purr at the feeling, and Alys continued to tease her buds, pressing a finger against each, flicking them, even lightly pinching them.  
  
"Again," Alys whispered eventually, and Rika once more rubbed the soap against her palms, her motions shaky and forceful now. This time Alys lifted her hands higher, above Rika's chest, above her face, until finally she gently pinched Rika's ears between her thumbs and forefingers. Rika let out a sound that was both a mewling whimper and a purring growl, its vibrations going throughout her and rumbling against Alys's frame. Alys began to softly run her fingers along Rika's ultra-sensitive ears, tenderly caressing them only to then playfully bat at them, enjoying the girl's every gasp and moan as Rika leaned more and more against Alys, becoming less able to support herself with her shaking knees.  
  
Finally, Alys removed her hands from Rika's ears and whispered, "One more time, babe...there's one last part of you I'd like to help get clean." The soap was mashed against Alys's wet, calloused palms with needy abandon, and this time, Alys's hands traveled lower. She trailed her soapy fingers down Rika's stomach slowly, far too slowly in Rika's opinion if her needy whines were anything to go by, until finally they reached her womanhood. Remembering that Rika was one of the few lucky ladies who didn't need it, Alys forewent her clit for the moment, planning to make use of it later, and concentrated her touches on Rika's vagina. She used her fingers to trace Rika's lower lips, causing the woman to almost jump in pleasure, and then spread them.  
  
Gently, but firmly, Alys inserted two of her fingers, and began to push them in and out at a slow pace. Rika called out her name in happiness, and Alys knew that she was already very, very close. Alys moved her hands so that her right hand was now cupping Rika's pussy, and added a third finger to her ministrations. She adjusted her motions so that she was now not so much pushing her fingers in and out (though she still was doing so a little) as crooking and pushing and twitching and wriggling them within Rika, massaging her inner pleasures chaotically, exploring every inch of her pleasures. Her other, free hand returned to Rika's breasts, rolling her left nipple between her fingers.  
  
Rika let out a scream that was almost a roar, and in short order Alys felt her fingers squeezed mercilessly by Rika's inner walls as her every muscle seized in climax. Alys used her left hand now to steady the woman, hold her up and relatively still as she shook in orgasm, while Alys continued to work her right hand's wonders, only speeding the actions of her fingers within Rika, pushing against the convulsing walls with force. She began to drum her fingers against Rika's insides rapidly, and Rika screamed harder still as she was suddenly swept up in a new, greater orgasm that climbed atop the first to reach new heights of pleasure. Rika twisted and writhed in Alys's firm grasp as she keened and yelled.  
  
Even as she struggled to keep both their footing against the orgasmic thrashing of her lover, Alys adjusted the angle of her right hand, and began to flick her thumb against Rika's clit. Rika's eyes shot open in uncomprehending happiness as her cries became one long, silent scream, a third orgasm crashing through the second taking her body like a tidal wave and carrying her mind away in utter pleasure. It was all Alys could do to guide their bodies down to the bottom of the shower without hurting themselves from the fall, for Rika's movements were beyond her ability to control. Rika pounded the porcelain below her with her hands and feet, twisting and turning almost as if she was struggling against the all-consuming bliss that enwrapped her entire body. All the while, Alys managed to keep her fingers working even as they were trapped in her crazy throes, and continued flicking Rika's clit.  
  
_(I do love a girl who goes all out!)_ Alys thought to herself, pleased that she had brought Rika to such sensual heights. A woman who even she could barely contain, that was what Alys enjoyed.  
  
Eventually Rika quieted, and lay against Alys, shivering and panting with shallow breaths as the hot water continued to pour down on them. Alys idly wondered whether she would have to pay extra at the desk the next day for all the precious water that was being used with this extended shower, but she couldn't find it in her to care very much just right now. As Rika lay, quietly recovering, Alys gently stroked her side with one hand, and used the other to wash herself, as she had so far not had a chance to do much actual self-cleaning.  
  
Eventually Rika seemed to come to, her eyes regaining their focus as she looked up adoringly at the woman holding her. She stirred and turned herself around, kneeling so that she could lean forward and kiss Alys deeply. The two held the kiss for several moments, each enjoying one another too much to end it, even as the warm water poured down upon them. Finally they drew away, and by mutual unspoken decision, got back to their feet, where the shower's torrent wouldn't be battering them from above. Each smiled lovingly at the other as the water dripped and streaked down from their hair over their faces. It would be difficult to say which thought the other was lovelier in that moment.  
  
Alys was the first to make a move to continue their lovemaking, running her hands down Rika’s back as she initiated another slow kiss. Gripping the soap, she traced it along each tiny contour of Rika's body, refreshing the memory of it that she had formed the night before. She brought a hand up once more to Rika's ears (she was finding she enjoyed the act of playing with them almost as much as Rika did), and the shorter woman cooed into their kiss.  Finally she reached Rika’s rear. Squeezing the taut muscles with the hand not holding the bar of soap, she absolutely loved the way they felt in her grasp, firm but pliant. Rika pulled in even closer to her as Alys washed her bottom, mashing their breasts together.  
  
Breaking the kiss just long enough to catch their breath, Alys got down to her knees once more, and rubbed the soap down the back of Rika's legs, then her sides, the top of her feet, up to her thighs, and then, finally, her inner thighs. Rika began to whimper again as the sensations closed in on her pleasure center.  
  
Alys let the soap fall from her grasp, its job now done--and a good thing, too, for her lust for Rika too stoked once more to concentrate on anything else. She drew her hands up Rika's legs, until they had returned to her toned, yet somehow so soft, buttocks. Alys dedicated both her hands to grasping them, kneading them, and used her grip to draw Rika gently forward, until Alys's lips could (and did) gently kiss Rika's lower ones.  
  
"Oh, Alys!" Rika moaned. She instinctively laid a hand on Alys's head, to guide her on.  
  
Alys needed no such guidance, of course. She gently slid her tongue into Rika's depths, and Rika's small shriek masked Alys's own gasp of delight. As it had been the previous night, Rika's pussy, warm and slick with her arousal and the remains of her orgasms from before, was possibly the best-tasting one she had ever had the pleasure to sample. The delicious, sweet, and heady taste of strawberry was everywhere, surrounding her tongue. Yet for all that it tasted of strawberry, there was no question that Alys was tasting the arousal and cum of a woman now, no mistaking the musky scent and aftertaste that she lived for as a lover.  
  
Alys went to work with a frenzied need, lashing her tongue about within Rika's pussy wildly. She drank from Rika's sex as fully as she could, delighting equally in the juices of arousal her probing, twisting organ scooped up, and in the streaming rivulets of warm water traveling down Rika's form and into her vagina, lightly flavored by the smooth, beautiful flesh it had traveled down. And when Rika finally gave a jagged scream, dropping both her hands to Alys's head no longer to hold her in place but rather to hold herself up, Alys loved her thick, oozing strawberry-tinted cum, too.  
  
Alys eased her assault, but only a enough that she could gently guide Rika back down to the shower's bottom. Rika lowered herself down and over until she was sitting before Alys, leaning back against the wall, her legs lifted and spread wide. Alys, for her part, had kept her tongue in Rika and working the whole time, and was now bent forward. She brought her hands up and found each of Rika's spread feet. She laced her fingers between Rika's cute little toes, and began to gently work them in and out, as she moved her thumbs against the balls of her feet, giving Rika a foot massage as she was eaten out. Rika cried out, and brought her hands up to her ears, beginning to gently stroke them as she became lost once more to the feelings of bliss that Alys was bringing her.  
  
For her part, Alys decided to abandon Rika's quim, delicious though it was, and began to focus on her clit. She circled it, swiped over it, shot her tongue against it, and then, as Rika shuddered on the edge, yowling in bliss as her body quaked in need and her fingers nearly clawed at her stimulating ears and the massaging motions of Alys's hands mixed with the pleasure and added to it, Alys put her mouth around Rika's clit, but unlike last night, she did not suck upon it. Instead, she brought her lover to climax with a gentle, but firm little nip against the pleasurable bud. Rika's body jerked uncontrollably and she once again screamed without noise, and it was all Alys could do to keep her from hurting herself in her uncontrollable thrashing.  
  
Once more, Alys gave Rika a few moments to recover, during which time she finished her own washing. Once Rika was sensible again, Alys shut off the water, and they got out of the shower, Rika positively glowing in happiness. They toweled off, managing to resist touching each other for a few agonizing seconds, and once they were barely dry, they were in one another's arms again, kissing as passionately as ever. Alys knew that no matter how many times she kissed the girl, she would never get tired of the sweet softness of her lips, and the way her tongue would dart about with such enthusiasm.  
  
They ended the kiss a moment later, and Alys whispered, "Let's go to bed."  
  
They went to one of the beds, Rika wrapped adorably and adoringly around Alys the whole time, and lay down upon it. Alys rolled over and positioned herself above Rika, holding herself up over her. Even though she had been intensely focused on the woman's body this whole time, Alys could not help but stop for a moment and gaze appreciatively again at the model of perfection beneath her. The smooth, unbroken, soft skin of Rika held as much hypnotic appeal now as it had last night, when Alys had seen it for the first time...although now, it was not quite so perfect. Her eyes traveling down Rika's figure, Alys saw the faint mark on her leg where she had been injured earlier that day.  
  
Alys would have thought she would feel a stab of pain at the sight of it, at the visual confirmation that this perfect representation of soft grace and beauty had been marred...yet she felt no such unhappiness. Instead Alys gazed lovingly at the closed wound, which would eventually become a scar, and felt a strange contentment, almost pride. Living as they were now, on this planet, the marks of life's obstacles were inevitable...yet Alys suddenly felt overwhelmed with satisfaction knowing that she would be present for each and every such mark made on RIka. She would be there as Rika's ally and lover, to support her, to heal her as best she could, to comfort her, and to witness the girl grow and fight at her side over and over again. This mark was no blemish as Alys had expected the night before...it was a testament to their having fought together, united as allies, friends, and now more. Going forward, every scar Rika--or Alys, for that matter--gained would be a visible reminder, a symbol of the adversity they had faced side by side and overcome. Alys found that she loved this mark more than every other inch of Rika's flawless form.  
  
She wanted to kiss it, to touch it tenderly, but it was only closed, not healed, and Alys did not want to risk anything that would worsen it. Instead, she brought herself back to the task at hand. Alys positioned herself so that her knee pressed into Rika’s crotch, knowing she had found a good spot when Rika gave a signature mewl of approval. Alys began to gently push her knee up and against Rika's center, while at the same time she pressed herself against Rika’s non-wounded leg and rocked her hips. The smoothness of her skin and firmness of her muscles was divinely pleasant against Alys's needy core, and she was suddenly swept away by the desire she had unconsciously been holding at bay until now. She had been so focused on pleasuring her girlfriend--what a wonderful word it was!--that Alys had not even noticed her own lust growing almost volcanic.  
  
Rika moaned deeply under her. Alys leaned in and gently licked along Rika’s ear, making her tremble and gasp sharply. She ground herself against the woman below her hard, fast, and relentlessly, feeling herself closing in to sweet release. The last night, Alys had fought against her orgasm as it came to her, trying to contain it, letting it build and build against her will until it crashed over her like a tempest. Tonight, as needy as she was, and with a beautiful girl below her looking up at her with eyes and whimpers full of both lust and real love, a woman she knew and accepted her own affection for...Alys simply welcomed her climax as it hit her. Her body seized in pleasure and her thrusts against her girlfriend became the erratic, rushed grinding of a woman in the grips of immense pleasure. She moaned Rika's name lustily around the ear she was nibbling at, and Rika came as well, pulling Alys down against her as tightly as she could as their bodies quaked in pleasured rhythm.  
  
The two lay in each other's arms for several moments, simply enjoying the after glow of orgasm and the sound of each other's breathing. Last night Alys had come harder...yet tonight she felt so much happier, better, more alive and fulfilled.  
  
This time, Alys knew it when she whispered, "I love you," and this time, Rika whispered the same back. Rika held Alys close, and Alys drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Alys sighed happily as she looked at her surroundings. Although she enjoyed traveling for her work, it was always a pleasant relief to come back home after a hard day or week's work. And considering how hard today's job of subduing the giant ranch worm had been, and the general stress and excitement that had been following her and her comrades since meeting Hahn, Alys was especially pleased to have a moment at home now.

  
She was currently in her favorite room in the house, the bathroom. This sizable room of Alys's home had a pit dug into its center deep enough that it breached the waters that ran through Aiedo, creating a bathing pit through which a constant flow of water, warmed from the hot desert sun that it was exposed to throughout the town, ran and gurgled merrily. Alys was looking forward to a nice, relaxing bath in the exposed underground stream, a chance to wipe off the grime and sweat of a hot day spent locked in combat with the monstrous Sand Worm. She was also looking forward to a little more than that...Alys had given her girlfriend a suggestive wink when she had announced to the group that she would be taking a bath, so hopefully Rika would soon be joining her here. The Sand Worm had been a very dangerous foe, and had eventually incapacitated Chaz, Grys, and Hahn, leaving Rika and Alys alone to strike the finishing blows and take it down. The experience of fighting such a beast side-by-side with Rika, each boosting the other with their Techs as they took turns attacking and healing one another, again in perfect combat concert, as they always were...Alys shivered in desire at the memory. Since the moment that beast had fallen before them, leaving them standing in triumph, breathing heavily as the adrenaline finally started to ebb, Alys had been practically vibrating with the need to touch Rika. If she hadn't been drenched in sweat and desert dust, she might have taken Rika right then and there, even while the ranch owner watched. But now she would get a chance to wash up, possibly with Rika, and they could explore their passions fresh and clean.

  
Before Alys could begin to disrobe, the door opened, rather forcefully, and Rika entered the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her, and turned to look at Alys. Alys was taken aback for a moment. Rika was staring at her with incredible intensity, her breathing deep and audible. She looked hungry, and like she was barely able to control herself. Like she wasn't even fully aware of the world around her, only the woman she was staring at.

  
"Rika?" Alys began, but suddenly Rika rushed forward, threw her arms around Alys, and positioned one of her soft, yet so strong hands behind Alys's head. She brought Alys's face to her own, and pressed their lips together.

  
Alys let out a surprised, muffled moan. It was a rough and aggressive kiss, hungry and forceful, something she would never have expected from her sweet Rika. Briefly Alys tried to match Rika's passion and take control, but it was no use; Rika's tongue assaulted and dominated her mouth, curling sensuously around her own tongue. Rika’s tongue wrestled her own down, and all Alys found she could do was to simply follow her girlfriend's lead. At the same time, Rika’s free hand went to Alys's left breast, roughly grabbing at the mound through the heavy fabric of Alys's clothes. Alys couldn’t help but moan a little in surprise at this aggressive assault, so unlike anything that she would have expected from Rika, which only seemed to encourage the girl more, as she moved her other hand from Alys's head down to her hips, digging her fingers into the warrior’s ass. Alys moaned once more into the kiss.

  
After a few moments, Rika drew away. Both women were breathing heavily, from lack of breath and simple arousal. “Rika, what’s gotten into you?” Alys asked, slightly confused at this uncharacteristic aggression. Confused, but definitely turned on. She'd never had another woman come at her with such passionate force; always it was Alys who was the seductress. Rika started to step forward again, but Alys held her back, saying, "Look, babe, I know you’re worked up, and I am too, believe me, but it's been a long day of travel and battle, and I'm all sweaty and dirty and I don't want to gross you out. How about you wait just a second for me to undress, and join me in the water, alright? We can have some fun as we're getting nice and clean.”

  
Rika did not seem to be listening. She brushed Alys's arm aside and lunged forward, grabbing Alys's shirt and, in a display of just how strong the artificial woman was, ripping it open. The fabric tore apart loudly, and Rika's grip was strong and deep enough that she had grabbed Alys's bra, too, so now Alys's breasts were completely exposed to the warm air. A sheen of sweat coated the soft mounds, which rose and fell quickly with Alys's surprised breath. As shocked as she was by this, the free air upon them felt comfortable and cool thanks to her perspiration. "R-Rika!" Alys gasped. "I said let's wait until--"

  
“But I *like* you this way!” the rose haired girl murmured with deep, heady happiness. Her breath, though hot and heavy, was cool on Alys's chest. “I'm...I'm tired of waiting until after you've washed. It's...” She inhaled deeply, shuddering as she did. “I like the way you smell so much, and right now, there's just soooo much Alys smell...! I just...I can't...A-Alys!”

  
Unable to restrain herself any further, Rika latched onto one of Alys’s nipples, sucking hard. Alys threw her head back and moaned at the urgent suction eliciting pleasure from her bud.

  
Rika didn’t linger there for long, breaking away after a moment to bring her lips to Alys's collar. She took a deep, happy breath as she began to delicately kiss Alys's flesh. Alsy moaned again, the delicate pleasure of Rika's lips on her sensitive neckline a different, yet almost equally powerful pleasure as the last.

  
“Mmmph...You taste just as good as you smell...!” Rika moaned into Alys's shoulder, sounding helpless with desire. She began running her tongue along Alys’s skin, licking slowly, sensuously across her upper chest, moving to the breast she had not touched before. Alys shivered in pleasure as Rika's tongue trailed across her, enjoying the wet pressure across her hot skin, slightly moist with perspiration, now wet with the path Rika's tongue took, wet and cooling even in the warm, humid air of the bathing chamber. Alys felt the familiar twinge of need in her loins...her skin was not the only part of her that was wet.

  
Alys reveled in this feeling, in this situation, in being seduced by the beautiful woman currently tasting her with wanton desire. Was this how it always was, to be seduced, to be the one being taken by a more aggressive lover? Had all of Alys's lovers experienced this thrill? Alys had always been the seductress, at most the equal, never the girl being seduced. Not even with Saya. She was a natural leader and an unerringly confident woman and lover; it had always seemed natural to take the initiative, take the lead. But the delicious novelty of another woman having her way with Alys, of her lover leading this game of pleasure...Alys's mind drank in the sweet sensation of seduction just as her body drank in the pleasant touch of Rika's mouth and tongue upon it, and as Rika drank in the scent and taste of Alys. This was new, this was exquisite, and far from strange, it was comforting and beautiful.

  
Rika tore herself away from Alys again, long enough to also tear away the rest of Alys’s. The cloth fell to the floor in violent tatters as Rika resumed her oral path down Alys's chest, running her tongue along the underside of each breast. Her eyes met Alys's as she did so, never breaking their hold on her, eyes that were usually so gentle and kind yet were now heated, and almost hostile with hunger. As turned on as Alys was, it was clear from the animal lust that clouded Rika's gaze which one of them was the hornier.

  
Rika placed her hands upon the outer sides of Alys's breasts, and firmly pressed them together, then buried her face in the valley of cleavage, deeply inhaling. “Ahh...” she sighed, and purred softly. Taking both nipples into her mouth at once, she gave them a very gentle nip, swirling her tongue over them as she held them flattened between her teeth. Alys let out a delighted moan at the pressure, a moan that was cut off as Rika suddenly moved in for another kiss, just as rough and passionate as before. Still caught up in the electric pleasure Rika had just given her, Alys did not even have the thought this time to try to keep up with the kiss, instead simply letting her girlfriend's tongue and lips have their way.

  
Breaking away again, Rika began to kiss along Alys’s neck once more, this time following a path upwards. “I just can’t get enough of you,” she whispered tenderly into Alys's throat, and took another deep breath. Alys closed her eyes and actually found herself whimpering as Rika made her way up her jaw. Rika drew Alys's earlobe between her lips and kissed it sweetly...then held it between her teeth and gently squeezed, making Alys shiver. If Rika's arms had not flew to Alys's sides at that moment, her hands sinking into her still-clothed rear and holding her tightly, Alys might have collapsed to the floor, legs quivering too uncontrollably to support herself.

  
Rika returned her kisses to Alys’s chest then, and she stayed there for several minutes, kissing in spirals along these two softest parts of Alys's body, occasionally interrupting the circles for a quick peck to each of the turgid little peaks at their center. It was making Alys feel more and more desperate; she needed more now, so much more! How long would Rika take before moving on, she wondered in pleasured torment. She opened her mouth, almost managed to whine a pitiful plea for more, but all that came out was a gasp as Rika kissed her nips again. Alys couldn't do it; Rika’s aggression and passion was so wonderful that it somehow rendered her helpless in its presence. She could not bring herself to interrupt her girlfriend's actions, her satisfaction of her deep need to experience Alys's musk and taste. Rika would decide when the time for more was, and Alys would accept it and just stew in her desire until that moment.

  
Thankfully, Rika soon was satisfied that she had tasted every inch of her girlfriend's breasts. She drew back for a moment, and looked down meaningfully. Alys had the sense in mind to remove the rest of her clothes quickly, saving them from being destroyed like her top, and Rika began to work her way down, leaving a trail of very wet kisses all the way down Alys's toned midriff and belly. Alys's breathing quickened as she did, faster and faster as those wonderful lips got closer and closer to where she needed them to be.

  
Rika paused right in front of Alys’s vagina. There was absolute silence for a moment as each woman held their breath in anticipation, Alys looking down in heated anticipation, and Rika's eyes locked on the feminine beauty before her. Then Rika suddenly breathed deep, deeper than she had so far, and just watching her girlfriend enjoy her aroma with such hedonistic delight made Alys shake with desire, a gasp escaping her lips.

  
“It's best right here,” Rika whispered, sounding almost in awe. She blew softly against Alys’s needy slit. Atop all that she had felt and seen so far, that bit of cool air was nearly enough to make Alys climax then and there...but not quite. Alys stood there, glorious sexual fire racing through her body, her slick slit already fluttering slightly in preparations for the contractions that would come, must come, *needed* to come!

  
Rika took one last breath of the heady scent of Alys, of exertion and arousal, and then suddenly moved forward, plunging her tongue in as deep as she could manage, pushing her lips against those of Alys's pussy. As she did this, Rika exhaled, emptying her lungs full of her girlfriend's smell in a rush that swept across Alys's labia and hit her clit with ghostly force.

  
Alys screamed, and came. It was hard and it was long and it was *good*, and she loved Rika and she wanted to be here with her like this forever.

  
Eventually the world of wonderful pleasures receded, fading back to Motavia, and Alys found herself kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily, leaning back, and barely managing to support herself with her arm. Rika was standing before her, divesting herself of the last pieces of her armor. Alys could not have been happier with the timing of her senses' return; no matter how many times she saw her lover naked, Alys still found herself utterly enthralled by the glorious perfection of Rika's body, and the few, titillating little scars that she had gained in their recent travels, each one a marker of a moment she had spent alongside Alys fighting as one. In spite of only just experienced a terrific orgasm, Alys could feel her heart race and her loins twinge at this sight.

  
Rika bent over to rummage through her inventory sack, which had been dropped to the ground with the rest of her belongings. Alys licked her lips and enjoyed the view. Instinctively, her free hand rose up to gently stroke her breast. The show ended before Alys could really begin to get into it, though, as Rika straightened up and turned around, holding the object she had dug out of her pouch.

  
“Put it on,” Rika lustily commanded. Her deep, breathy tone had such force that Alys immediately took the object in her hands without even looking to see what it was. Only once she was holding it did she realize that Rika had just handed her the strap-on dildo that Alys kept, along with some other fun tools and toys, in her dresser. The pale blue, ridged jelly toy was already fitted to its harness.

  
"Someone's been going through other people's drawers," Alys teased.

  
Rika closed her eyes and let out a loud, deep growl, her body trembling as the angry sound went through her. Alys was taken aback; that growl had been far more bestial than human. If she hadn't actually seen Rika making the noise, Alys would have sworn that it had come from an exceptionally angry, frustrated animal. "Alys, PUT IT ON!" Rika half yelled, half growled, her eyes snapping open to focus a gaze of pure fire on her girlfriend. It actually made Alys afraid...and somehow, that turned her on all the more. She quickly stood and slid the toy into place.

  
"Down!" Rika barked out as soon as the toy was in place, an order which Alys hurriedly obeyed. She lowered herself to the ground, sitting on the tiled floor, stretching her legs out comfortable, and leaning back, supporting herself with both arms. Rika then lowered herself down, facing Alys the whole time, until the phallus's tip was just parting her labia. With a steady, smooth motion, Rika finished her journey, moaning as it slid into her. The moan was so deep, her expression carrying so much relief, her body shaking with such desire, that Alys almost thought she could feel Rika's desperate pussy squeeze the toy.

  
Still filled to the toy's hilt, Rika leaned down and kissed Alys again, with the same hungry passion as before, forcefully sliding her tongue in as she began to pump her hips along the length of the toy. She moaned into Alys's mouth as she did, and Alys whimpered back. As Rika pressed herself against Alys forcefully, she wrapped her arms and legs around the brunette, getting better leverage as she pushed her hips back and forth, fucking Alys's artificial dick all the harder.

  
This was a whole new experience on top of another. It was strange--normally she would have assumed that the woman wearing the strap-on would be the dominant partner. But as Rika thrust herself up and down upon the toy's length, Alys just trying to keep up with her pink-haired lover's pace as her arms, though sinewy and strong, only barely managed to hold her up under the rhythmic power of Rika's lust, and as Rika thrust her tongue eagerly into Alys's mouth and Alys wrestled it with her own in a clearly losing battle, there was no question as to which of them was submitting to the other's sexual wishes.

  
But though it may have been different, Alys was still enjoying this immensely. The raw desire that seemed to have consumed Rika was getting to her as well, as though Rika was transferring her heat and passion through every eager thrust against Alys's body, every reverberating moan into Alys's mouth, into Alys's body. She could practically feel the other girl’s pleasure as she rode the toy, her pussy quivering every time Rika's hips crashed against her own. Rika broke the kiss suddenly, leaving Alys gasping for breath--she had been so caught up in the passion of the moment that she hadn't even felt the burning of her lungs. Rika only allowed Alys one gulp of air, though, and then she guided Alys’s mouth to one of Rika's breasts. Alys got straight to work, lashing the pert nipple with her tongue. Rika's luscious skin, unwashed after their day in the field, tasted a little saltier than it usually did, but aside from that, it was still as pleasant to sample as ever. Rika dug her fingers into Alys's hair roughly.

  
Determined to be an active part in her dominating girlfriend's pleasure, Alys began sucking hard on the small nub between her lips, and thrusting her own hips upwards to meet and intensify Rika's motions, making Rika moan even more. Slowly but firmly, Rika began to push Alys down, until the woman was lying on her back. The moment she touched the ground, Rika pulled upwards and away, taking her breast away from Alys’s hungry lips.

  
Rika sat up, on her knees, and began to thrust herself against the toy Alys wore once more, now also rolling her hips as she did so. She looked almost as though she were performing some sensuous dance. Alys watched her moving in her sexual throes and moaned as her arousal kicked into overdrive, and Rika looked down at her. She could see that Rika was completely lost in pleasure, her eyes distant but focused at the same time, as if the only thing in the world that she saw was the woman beneath her. The fact that she could bring Rika to this point, a height of pleasure and desire as great as any she'd seen in her girlfriend during their previous couplings, just by letting her have her way, letting her take control of their lovemaking and use and pleasure Alys, was turning Alys on so much that she could feel her pussy quivering, could feel herself inching closer and closer to another climax. The feeling of Rika pushing the flat, soft backside of the dildo against her vulva, hard and over and over, was certainly helping.

  
Rika reached down and cupped both of Alys's breasts, kneading them firmly as she held onto them as though for balance, and Alys reached up and returned the gesture, grasping and stroking Rika's perfect globes. The pink-haired woman let out a wild cry as she pumped her hips faster still, and Alys increased the tempo of her own thrusts, trying to keep up. They had found a blissful rhythm, moving as one mind in two bodies, just as they did in battle, meeting and withdrawing and meeting again in perfect sync, grunting and moaning as the pleasure filled one and the other felt it vicariously, becoming hotter and hotter as Rika sank the dildo into herself, and as Alys's delight in the sight and sounds of her lover, in the heat of the moment, the passion of being connected to her girlfriend and the sensation of submitting to Rika's desires, stimulated her own pleasure as though each were a physical sensation itself.

  
With a sudden scream of Alys's name, Rika broke their rhythm as she began to hump her girlfriend in a frenzy, collapsing forward as she did so. She lay and writhed upon Alys, her hips the only part of her seemingly still in control as they slammed themselves against her lovers' with brutal desire. Suddenly Rika's face was pressed against the side of Alys's head, and as she came she began to draw fast, but deep, breaths of Alys's hair, taking in every bit of her lover's husky scent she could get. She outright roared her mindless lust into Alys's locks as she began to cum again, twice as hard, even in the middle of her first climax. It was too much for Alys, the passion, the delicious friction of the dildo's back against her pussy, the feeling of Rika's droplets of cum trickling down the toy's length to moisten Alys's loins, the knowledge that her girlfriend's desire for her was so great that she had reached a higher plane of pleasure just from Alys's smell...Alys let out a heavy groan, a grunt that reverberated through her being as her body tensed, as her vagina clamped upon the intangible but wonderful mental pleasure, and she climaxed as well, arms wrapping around her beloved Rika's back, holding her tight even though Rika was pressed so hard against her. They shook and gasped and whimpered and moaned together, a primal song of love and pleasure as they shared the bliss washing over them for so long, until finally Alys finished, and lay limp and breathing heavily, and Rika joined her moments later, lying still in Alys's arms and trembling and purring.

  
Eventually Alys recovered her strength, and gently sat up. This time, when she suggested they bathe together, Rika meekly, happily nodded.

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
"I'm sorry I've always put you off if we haven't had access to a shower or bath," Alys told Rika as they sat in the warm water, enjoying the soak as the grime of the day was washed away, Rika leaning back into Alys, who was sitting right behind her. "I thought you were just trying to be...I don't know, a dutiful girlfriend, or something."

  
Rika shook her head, smiling. She was very much enjoying their bath, partially because Alys's soft scrubbing had, for the last minute or two, been focused solely upon the area between Rika's legs. "That's okay. I really do love the way you smell, though. And taste! It's the most wonderful thing in the world to me. I can still smell your scent even after we shower, of course (I think my sense of smell is better than other people's, too, like my hearing), but spending the day so close to you, smelling your musk more and more as the day goes on...it drives me crazy! When you get all wrapped up in...in Alys smell, I just need you so, so badly!

  
"And then, I was in your room, thinking I'd go join you here, and I catch a little whiff of my favorite of your smells, and I find it's coming from your...I don't know the word for it," she said, pointing at the strap-on sitting on the ground a few feet away, "and I just couldn't take it any more! I couldn't wait for you any more and I didn't want to lose all that wonderful Alys smell, I wanted to dive into it and have every bit I could!"

  
It didn't surprise Alys that her toy had some trace scent of herself on it. Although she'd only ever worn it with previous lovers, there had been plenty of times when Alys had been alone, and satisfied herself with it. She kept it clean, of course, but apparently no amount of cleaning could trick Rika's enhanced nose. One thing did surprise her, though. "How did you know what that was, anyway? I mean, I know it's not exactly hard to guess, but as far as I know, you've never seen a man's genitals. My strap-on (that's what it's called, by the way, babe) is a long way from being an exact replica, but still, I'm surprised given how new to the world and society you still ar."

  
Rika shrugged. "I don't know how I knew...I just did." She sighed happily. "Deeper, please, Alys..."

  
Alys did as she was asked, pushing the washcloth against Rika's lips under the water, gently rubbing them with its rough, yet soft texture. She tenderly kissed the back of Rika's head. Her feelings for this woman only seemed to deepen every day. The fact that Rika was so drawn to her, so in love with her, that even just the scent of Alys could affect her so much made Alys's heart soar. This sweet, soft, strong, dangerous, lovely person was so wonderful...Alys had never felt like this, not even with Saya.

  
And then Alys frowned as a thought cut through this happiness. They would soon be journeying to Zio's fortress, she, Rika, Chaz, Gryz, and Hahn. It would be perilous, of that there was no doubt. Alys didn't know if it would be the most dangerous thing they had done as a group to date, but something within her told her that the answer was yes. What if...what if something happened to Rika? They faced mortal peril every day, but to this point, Alys's group had not yet encountered a foe that she didn't have confidence in their ability to overcome. But what if that changed? What would she do? She couldn't lose Rika. She couldn't.

  
Alys pushed down her fears, latching onto the pleased mewls that the beloved woman in her lap was making as she worked her closer to the edge, calming herself with the comforting sounds of her girlfriend's happiness. She was the best Hunter in the Guild, Chaz was a promising protege well on his way to being the second best, Gryz was a focused and ferocious warrior, Rika was one of the most capable warriors that Alys had ever encountered, and even Hahn was surprisingly adept, for a scholar without years of training or combat experience. They worked well as a team, and Alys and Rika by themselves were a living fury together in battle. They would pull through whatever awaited them, together.

  
Nonetheless, as Rika's sighs became louder and more keening, Alys could not help but draw her free arm around the girl, and hold her in a tight, protective embrace.


	4. Chapter 4

"Our destination is significantly distant. It will be approximately six hours before our arrival even at top speed," Demi announced to everyone sitting in the cockpit of the Land Rover. "I can pilot this magnificent vehicle adequately alone, and do not need sleep, so this may be an excellent opportunity for the rest of you to rest."

  
She said it to the entire group, but Alys knew that Demi's concern was mostly for Alys. Rika and Gryz were both weary, but had found moments to rest since...since the incident. Alys, on the other hand, had not had a full hour's sleep since...she didn't know how long it had been. How many hours had it been since she, Rika, Hahn, Gryz, and...and Chaz...had assaulted Zio's castle? She didn't know. More than a day, that much was certain. Over two days now, perhaps? It was hard to keep track of at this point. She was so tired, but she couldn't rest, not for a moment, not while Chaz was on his deathbed.

  
It was her fault. Alys gritted her teeth and curled her hand into a fist, not for the first time. It had been all her fault. Her group had reached the heart of Zio's fortress, and freed the android woman Demi from Zio's bonds. Then Zio had appeared before them, and had attacked the enemy nearest to him: Chaz. And Alys...

  
She slammed her fist down against her seat's armrest, hard. Hard enough to hurt. Good. She deserved it, a thousand times over. Alys had sprung into action when Zio unleashed his deadly attack, but...not before, for a split second, the briefest moment imaginable, she looked to Rika to ensure that the woman she loved was safe. And that was all it had taken. That one nanosecond's hesitation out of love had made her too late. Chaz had been too slow to dodge himself, and Alys was a moment too late to put herself between Zio and her partner. Chaz had taken the full brunt of Zio's power, and collapsed.

  
Things were a blur after that, really. Someone, Alys supposed it must have been Rika, had magicked them out of the fortress. Chaz was put in a bed and attended to immediately, but it was obvious that he would not last long without help far greater than what Hahn could provide. And now, Alys and her comrades were in a race against time.

  
(Please, Rune), she prayed privately, (please, please be at Ladea Tower...)

  
Rune was Chaz's only hope, Alys knew it. Whatever Zio had hit Chaz with, it was nightmarish and otherworldly, like nothing she had ever seen in all her years of hunting. And if she hadn't seen it, then she doubted just about anyone else had. Only someone old, someone who had had the time and lifestyle to have seen more of what the world and galaxy could offer than even the premier Hunter Alys, could possibly know what the darkness eating away at Chaz's life was, and how to stop it. Alys knew Rune had lived a long, long time, hundreds of years maybe, and had seen many things and knew many forgotten remedies and spells to heal. He was their only chance of saving Chaz before it was too late. No doubt Rune could also help them get past that magical barrier in Zio's fortress, and to defeat Zio, but right now, Alys's only thought was saving Chaz from the untimely death that she had brought upon him.

  
If only Alys had recognized the potential danger as being too great for her rookie partner, and had had him stay behind. If only Alys had spent more time teaching him instead of thinking to have him develop his own style of combat, he might have been quick enough to dodge Zio's attack. If only Alys had decided not to take on this task to begin with. If only Alys hadn't taken Chaz under her wing in the first place, had ignored the young man when she first met him and let him continue living out his life as he was--a no-good city punk, but one that would not have ever been anywhere near Zio. And if only, if *only*, Alys had not been so focused on Rika's safety at that crucial moment...!

  
Exhausted from over a day's worth of fights, trekking, worrying, and fast-paced recent events, Alys drifted off into a troubled sleep.

 

** \----4----4----4----4---- **

 

All for nothing. They had raced across the globe to find Rune...for absolutely nothing. By the time the group had found Rune and helped him to acquire the Psycho-Wand, Chaz had been dead for half a day. They had teleported to his bed immediately, only to find the room quiet, Hahn sitting in a chair with his head in his hands, a bed sheet gently pulled over Chaz's still face.

  
"I did everything I could," Hahn had said softly as Alys collapsed to her knees by her dead partner. "But he didn't have the strength to fight it any longer...I don't think anyone could have been strong enough to hold out against it."

  
Even though they were wracked with grief, Chaz's friends and allies didn't delay his burial. Rune had pointed out that with a power so dangerous and dark as what had killed Chaz, no chances should be taken. Numbly Alys agreed, and soon they watched as a hastily purchased casket was gently lowered into the ground. Gryz was quiet, betraying nothing, as always, while Rune looked on with casual, but sincere, regret. He'd only briefly known Chaz, and they hadn't gotten along, but Rune was a good man, probably the best Alys had ever known, and he still had the compassion and respect to mourn her partner's passing. Hahn stood, looking almost as devastated as Alys felt, which made sense...just as Alys blamed herself, Hahn also blamed himself to at least some degree, convinced that it was some fault in his care that had kept Chaz from holding on long enough for Rune to come to the rescue. Saya held Hahn tightly, as though her embrace alone could convince him that it wasn't his fault. Demi had only just met Chaz at the moment he was struck down, but she still helped by gently holding Rika against her as the catlike girl wept piteously at the loss of her friend. Alys was grateful for the surprising humanity in the android, because Alys couldn't stand to comfort Rika herself right now. In fact, she...she didn't even want to be near her.

  
Instead, Alys simply kneeled at the marker for Chaz's fresh grave silently, offering no prayer, no vows, no statements of any kind. She stayed like that long after the sun set, and the rest had left to return to Hahn's dwelling. She just stayed there, wrapped in anguish and guilt, barely able to even form a real thought.

  
Finally, hours later, when the stars shone above and the night had grown cold, Rune came out and approached her. "Alys, come inside. Sleep. We have much to do tomorrow, and we need you capable for it."

  
"What...am I doing?" Alys asked him, without looking up.

  
"Alys?"

  
I met Chaz in a far-off city...he was just a no-good street punk, but I saw something in him. I knew...I knew he could be great," Alys said to her old friend. "I knew that he could be a hunter almost as good as me."

  
"He had potential, but let's not get carried away. He was no Alys Brangwin, and he wasn't ever going to be," Rune remarked. He was old enough and experienced enough that he had a good handle on what a person was capable of, and he wasn't in the habit of sugar-coating things.

  
Alys ignored him. "I thought I would take him on as an apprentice, and then a partner. I figured that if I could just give him the training he needed, show him how to put his innate skills to work, he could earn some honest money, and live comfortably. I tried to make his life better...all I did was make it shorter."

  
"Money, huh..." Rune repeated. "Do you really think Chaz followed you just for money?"

  
Alys was silent for a moment, and Rune continued. "If you hadn't picked him up and given him purpose, Chaz would have lived a long, hard life doing nothing worthwhile, and at its end, he would have lay on his deathbed and wondered what it was all for, why his life never had a point. Instead, you gave him friendship, and taught him the satisfaction of helping others and earning his living, and as a result, Chaz died early, but died knowing he was doing something meaningful for the good of others." Rune turned to leave as he asked, "Which do you think Chaz would choose? Do you think fighting technique was the only thing he learned from you?"

  
"I..."

  
Rune strode off, but stopped and turned back for one moment more, his tone forceful, almost angry. "You better think it over!"

 

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

 

  
Alys had gone back inside soon after that. She didn't really feel any better about what had happened, but she knew Rune was right. Chaz had been a hunter, a great one. And a hunter wasn't afraid of death, and a great hunter hoped that theirs would at least come while they were doing good. She at least didn't feel guilty for taking Chaz under her wing any more, and she didn't feel guilty for giving him the chance to come with her that day to do whatever he could to help them stop Zio.

  
But in the inn room they shared, when Rika tried to approach Alys, speaking with brave cheer about what made her glad to be out in the world...Alys turned coldly away from her, and told her that she was tired and didn't want to hear it. Surprised and wounded, Rika had shrunk back like a chastised puppy, and apologized. It gave Alys a strange sensation...she felt guilty and terrible for hurting the one she loved, especially when it was clear that Rika had been trying to tell her something that she thought would help. But at the same time, there was some dark, malicious satisfaction that ran through Alys at seeing the woman hurt, something that thought, _(Good. Serves her right.)_

  
Because even if Alys had accepted that it wasn't her own fault for bringing Chaz into the situation, for making him a Hunter to begin with, she still blamed herself, and Rika, for his death. If she hadn't been so concerned for Rika at that moment, she could have made it in time to take that attack in Chaz's place. If she hadn't loved Rika so dearly, had been able to ignore her instinct to stay close to her and watch over her...it was Alys's fault, and it was Rika's fault for making Alys love her.

  
_(I should have listened to myself)_ , Alys had told herself bitterly as she climbed into bed, and Rika meekly crawled, for the first time in a while, into a separate one. _(I was right from the start. Saya taught me that love led only to suffering in the end...I was a fool to think otherwise again)_.

  
And that was how it had been for a few days. Before Chaz's death, Alys had made love to Rika every night, and few days had passed during which they had not stolen away to have an extra bit of fun. But since Chaz had passed away, Alys had had nothing to do with Rika. Whenever the pink-haired woman tried to talk to her in any way, even openly in front of the group, Alys ignored her, or coldly told her that she was not interested in hearing what she had to say. If Rika tried to touch her, Alys jerked away from her. And in battle, they stayed separated, watching and supporting one another no more than they did any other teammate.

  
It all meant nothing, Alys told herself. She had gotten a reminder of just how much love could hurt her, and she was done with it. It was too bad that it hurt Rika's feelings, but Alys no longer cared. She didn't feel her heart twisting in two each time she cut Rika off, nor did she agonize over what the woman had been about to say. She didn't miss Rika's touch at all; any woman could warm her bed just as well, and the only reason she hadn't invited some random trollop to have some fun was just that they had been too busy for such things, that was all. And battle felt just as thrilling and exhilarating as it always had, and she was just as effective a fighter alone; enemies had just had an unusual lucky streak lately.

  
Yes, all of these things were most definitely true, no question.

  
For the next couple days, the team delayed from their purpose. They investigated another technological ruin, which handily enough provided Demi with some extra firepower, and then took on a Hunter job to find a missing dog. Rune had raised an eyebrow at this shift in priorities, and Gryz had outright said it was a waste of time, but Alys had just given them a look. She needed to do this...needed to find something good to do for others, something personal which she could see the benefit of. Saving Motavia from Zio was a worthy goal, of course, but at that moment, she needed to be able to see the happy expression of a child whose dog has returned to her. Somehow, seeing and feeling the good of her work as a Hunter helped to heal her a little...this was the purpose in life that she had given Chaz, if only for a short time, and at that moment, it did feel like it could be worth it.

  
But now the time for delay was over. The party relaxed this evening at the inn of Termi. They could have bedded at any town for the night, since a simple teleportation spell would bring them in the morning to Zio's castle, but Rune had asked that it be Termi. Alys had thought it might be nice to spend the night in her own home, perhaps look over the belongings Chaz had left there, but she granted Rune his wish. He hadn't said why, but Alys suspected it had to do with the town's dedication to the legendary hero Alis, and the fact that Rune had not budged from the foot of the statue since arriving, even though the sun was now fully set and the stars had emerged, implied that she was correct. The rest of the party was nearby. Gryz had retired to his room early, where he was no doubt either polishing his axe or getting some extra rest. Either way, it was his way of preparing for the following day, when they would once again face off against Zio. Demi was sitting in the inn's lobby, observing the coming and going of guests with a pleasant expression on her face. She seemed to greatly enjoy the company of people, even strangers...what a strangely personable android she was. Rika was...no, Alys reminded herself, she didn't care where Rika was at the moment.

  
As for Alys herself, she was having a drink in the lounge, and frowning to herself. Tomorrow they would be attacking Chaz's killer, and the most dangerous opponent Alys had come across to date. She would need to be at her very best, with no distractions. They all would have to be, of course, but she especially. She couldn't allow what had happened to Chaz to happen to anyone else. She would have to be completely alert, at her top speed, as strong as she could be. And that meant one thing:

  
She had to get laid tonight.

  
She took another sip of her drink, its caustic strength not even making her flinch. Sexual frustration was a minor distraction, but even a minor distraction might be fatal tomorrow. She had always kept herself well-satisfied as a Hunter, for years with the occasional random pretty face she met on a job or during her free time, and then recently with Rika. She missed Rika's touch--no, she revised immediately, she missed a woman's touch, any woman, not just Rika's. Why was she thinking of Rika? She didn't need to think about Rika. She was done with Rika, because she was done with love. So right now, any woman would do. Even if she wasn't as beautiful, as perfect a partner as--

  
Alys stood up suddenly, angry with herself. _(Stop thinking about Rika!)_ she screamed at herself internally. _(You're just horny, and she was the last person you slept with. That's all it is. Any other attractive woman will do just as well!)_ And she could get any other woman, easily. She was Alys Brangwin, for goodness' sake! Top Hunter, peerless fighter, and shameless lady killer!  She could get any woman into bed, she always could, and she'd do it right now, take care of this itch and settle her mind and get it off Rika!

  
Alys swept her eyes across the room. Not many prospects, but a few. There was a very attractive, matronly woman in her late middle age alone at another table...she could be a lot of fun. There were also a couple of younger women in the room, probably early twenties, both having dinner with young men who were probably boyfriends or husbands...not that that would be a problem if Alys wanted. She could charm those ladies into her bed right in front of her beaus if she wanted to, that was a simple fact. And she'd be doing the couple a favor, really, their love was only going to hurt them in the end anyway...

  
Alys's eyes happened to look out of the lounge and into the lobby, and stopped on her robotic companion. Demi...she was pretty cute. Adorable, actually, but not so much that she wasn't attractive, too. Alys had to wonder about it...just how much like a woman was Demi's construction? She was capable of so much humanity, more than plenty of actual humans that Alys had known. Could she feel passion? Could she give pleasure, and feel its return? Could an android be seduced?

  
Alys smirked. She did enjoy a challenge. Seducing a robot...no one could claim that love was still holding her back if she pulled this one off.

  
“Hey Demi, I need some help with something,” Alys said, approaching the pretty artificial woman.

  
Looking up, Demi blinked, and responded agreeably, “I’d be happy to assist you in any way I can, Alys.”

  
“I need a good lay and you’re cute. What're you packing in those little blue leggings of yours, toots? Anything fun?" Alys asked, licking her lips suggestively.

  
Demi's eyes widened in surprise. “You mean you wish to have sexual intercourse with me?” she asked, tilting her head quizzically.

  
“A little clinical, but yeah, that's the gist of it. That something you can do?”

  
Demi nodded and stood up. "My creator designed me to better mimic humanity than he himself could, and to that end installed the necessary components and behavioral subroutines, so yes, I have that capacity," she told Alys mechanically. She then broke out into an eager little smile. "And I have been very interested in trying something like this! I have reviewed text on the subject, but that's nothing like having experience firsthand."

  
"Oh, you're going to have experience with a hand, don't worry about that," Alys told her, giving the girl a playful tap on her ass. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

  
As soon as the door to Alys's room was shut, she moved in, grabbing Demi and kissing forcefully her on the lips. Alys found herself a little surprised--she hadn't known what she was expecting, but the feminine robot responded just as any other girl would. She was slow, unsure, and even shy, the way any girl might be during her first kiss of passion. Normally Alys found such naivety in a lover a charming, special treat, but she wasn't looking to have something special with the woman she held--she just wanted to fuck.

  
Thankfully, Demi might have been inexperienced, but she wasn't clueless. Those texts she had spoken of must have taught her something useful, for when Alys pushed her tongue forward insistently, Demi knew to open her lips and welcome the oral visitor with her own. Alys thrust her tongue into Demi's mouth and began to explore the android's mouth, while she set her hands to work undoing Demi's garments. The robotic woman's mouth was fascinating...its shape was exactly that of a human being's, and its flesh was soft and inviting as any woman's, yet there was a marked difference between a human woman and Demi: Demi had no saliva! As Alys swept her tongue about, she found that the only moisture she encountered were the traces that her own tongue left. Even Demi's own tongue, though soft, pliant, yet firm like any other, was completely dry. It made sense, Alys supposed, since Demi had no need to eat and her mouth, like the rest of her, had no organic components for bacteria to exploit...but it was still a strange new experience, albeit a pleasant one.

  
Alys broke the kiss, and Demi was left breathing heavily, her expression almost starstruck. "Your tongue...it is so wet," she murmured in surprise.

  
"That's usually how they come, doll," Alys answered with a smirk. "Not a problem for you, I hope?"

  
"Oh, no...it is alien and perhaps a little messy, but strangely enticing," Demi remarked.

  
That was all Alys needed to hear. Now down to her underwear, while Demi was completely naked (she wore no undergarments; her control over her own body was likely complete enough that they would serve little to no purpose), Alys embraced her again and initiated another heated kiss. This time Demi met her passionately, her own tongue meeting Alys's halfway and roughly dancing against the Hunter's. Sweet and inexperienced though she was, Demi was a quick learner, and this time Alys found herself on the defensive, Demi twisting and coiling her tongue within Alys's mouth now. Not interested in losing control, she let her hands drift lower, and firmly grabbed Demi's ass. The green-haired woman made a sound between a gasp and a squeak, and Alys pressed her advantage, leaning into their kiss as she fondled Demi's ass. Her cheeks were soft and pleasantly pliant, but nonetheless small. Alys supposed that there wasn't much reason for Demi to have anything more (in fact, the existence of an ass on the robot at all had to be purely for appearances), but she found herself missing enjoyment of cupping and kneading Rika's curvy, fuller figure's posterior.

  
_(No, stop. Don't think about Rika)_ , Alys reminded herself. Demi helped her with this resolution by distracting the Hunter when she reciprocated Alys's act, and took hold of Alys's rear, digging her fingers in hard enough to make Alys gasp into their kiss.

  
Not about to let Demi get one up on her, Alys broke the kiss and gave her a push, causing the surprised android to fall onto the bed. Alys straddled her and latched onto her neck. Though she wasn’t human, Demi’s skin was still soft and warm like a woman's. And yet, as Alys nipped and suckled at Demi's artificial flesh, the subtle differences were very apparent. Demi's skin was so smooth that it simply couldn't be real, smoother than any woman Alys had ever been with, and as unmarked as Rika had been on their first night together _(stop thinking about Rika)_. There was also a taste to Demi's tender, smooth skin that was ever so slightly sweet, not salty at all. It was a strange, but enjoyable difference. And finally, though Demi's body was warm and inviting to Alys's caressing lips, it was a lighter warmth than a living woman, like the pleasant, clean warmth that a running machine gently gave off. Unsurprising, of course, for a robotic female!

  
Regardless of these subtle differences in her skin and body, though, Demi's coos and gasps at the way Alys tended to her neckline were indistinguishable from any woman in the midst of the luxury of another woman's love. They weren't Rika's adorable little whimpers and purr (Stop thinking about Rika!), but they were cute and sexy and they made Alys wet and want to bring out more of them. However it worked with her artificial body and senses, Demi was as sensitive and eager as any natural woman.

  
Alys pulled back slowly, gently tugging the flesh of Demi's neck for a moment, which sent a tremble through Demi that was so human, yet strangely symmetrical in the way it traveled through her. Alys gazed down at Demi's breasts appreciatively. She didn't know whether Demi's nipples became erect with arousal as a human woman's would, or if they were just always like this, but either way, the pink, turgid little peaks reaching for her were too tempting to ignore. Putting more weight down with her hips to let Demi know she wasn't going anywhere, Alys moved down and took one of the nubs between her lips, sucking hard. They were firm, yet pliant at the same time, and a little sweeter than the other parts of Demi's skin, almost as though the pleasant aspects of her flesh were gathered at these little, lovely points.

  
Demi let out a soft moan. “Ahh, that feels...so enjoyable! I have never...please, more!” she gasped. Alys smiled to herself. _(Virgins)_. She lashed her tongue against Demi’s nipple in crashing arc, savoring the sounds of her pleasure. This was what sex was, all it needed to be, just a way to feel good! There didn't need to be anything more to it than that.

  
Alys removed her mouth from Demi's peak, earning a light gasp of both regret and contentment from Demi as she left it. She sat up for a moment, and reached around to her back, removing her bra and letting it fall carelessly to the floor. She then leaned in, pressing her breasts against Demi’s face, enjoying the feeling of warmth of skin against skin. It was an interesting sensation, to press sensitive flesh of her own against Demi's skin, for Demi's light warmth was less distracting than the warmth of a woman like Rika _(Stop thinking about Rika, damn it!)_ , which gave Alys a chance to really feel every smooth, curved nuance of the woman through their contact. Even though Alys preferred the passion of human heat, this was an interesting, subtle enjoyment.

  
Without instruction, Demi began to kiss along the valley of Alys’s cleavage, slowly working her way to one of Alys’s nipples. Her tongue left no trail of saliva behind on its journey, but the gentle push against Alys's sensitive flesh was a path marked with pleasure all the same. Taking the hard and sensitive bud of the Hunter's nipple between her lips, Demi began to suck it, and suck it hard, harder than she should have been able to. The suction tugged fiercely at the pleasurable little peak, so hard and constant that it was actually a little painful! But Alys just groaned in delight; she couldn't be happier with this change of pace. Rough and forceful, as far from tender as she could get, that's what she wanted!

  
"Nngh, ah, yeah!" Alys grunted in encouragement, gripping the sheets below her at the harsh pleasure that her breast was screaming at her. "Like that, doll, yeah. H-Harder! Suck it even harder!!!"

  
The pressure increased, and Alys gasped as it almost became too much for her. But just as she was sure she was at her limit, the suction lessened, and Demi's tongue brushed directly against her nipple. Alys could hear a faint humming sound, and a few seconds later she felt the synthetic organ suddenly begin buzzing against her nipple. Tossing her head back, she moaned deeply.

  
“Th--that’s...Ahhh!” she gasped and moaned, unable to form words due to how good it felt. The feeling of this vibrating appendage against her overstimulated nips...it was beyond description!

  
Demi held the nipple in her mouth for several moments, before going over to the other, latching onto it the same way, her tongue buzzing forcefully against it. Grinding herself against Demi, the women's pussies separated only Alys's damp panties, she could feel the needy heat between her legs growing too hot to stand any longer. Suddenly every hour of the last few days seemed to be weighing on her libido, building a sudden inferno of need between her legs.

  
“That’s enough!” she growled, arousal overwhelming her. Demi drew back, her eyes containing a question that Alys didn't bother answering. For her part, Alys got off the bed for just a moment, long enough to strip her final undergarment off. She then got back onto the bed and pushed Demi down against the mattress forcefully, and flipped herself around, kneeling down with one leg on each side of the robotic woman's head. Alys lowered herself, and planted her cunny right on top of Demi’s mouth.

  
"Do it, you hot robotic bitch, eat me out!" she commanded, almost screamed.

  
When the robot girl’s lips pressed against her pussy, Alys shuddered in satisfaction at the familiar bliss. A set of warm soft lips and a hungry tongue, that was all she really needed for a good time! As long as she was a sexy, cunt-hungry babe, who cared who the partner was? Love just distracted a woman from the important thing, getting off!

  
As Demi’s tongue brushed along her pussy lips, Alys felt herself getting so excited that she was practically on the verge of a climax then and there. She had far more pent up lust than she had realized! Demi’s tongue slid along in quick and hard motions, sending tiny jolts of pleasure through her needy pussy. Again and again she trembled and jerked from the tiny jolts of pleasure, and as the licking went on, Alys realized that it wasn’t just that she was getting some much-need relief: Demi’s tongue was actually producing weak shocks! Each one that pulsed through her set off a new, powerful wave of pleasure, unique and strong and setting her tingling in delight from head to toe. It became a fluid rhythm of pleasure jolts, one after another, one leading into another, such that Alys almost didn't realize that she was coming, and hard, almost couldn't tell the difference between the clenching convulsions of electric and orgasmic pleasure within her competing with one another. All that was important was that Demi keep going; she needed more, so damn much more, and that glorious electric tongue was gonna give her every last cum she needed!

  
At some point in this crashing storm of pleasure, Demi’s tongue moved away from Alys’s pussy and right to her clit. Just like with her nipple, a strong vacuum was formed against it, which caused Alys to outright scream with delight as her mind blanked out from the magnificent wash of fiery bliss that suddenly flared her every orgasmic quiver into an earthquake of pleasure, and then Demi pressed her tongue against that hard little button struggling to withstand the suction and began buzzing wildly and shooting those pleasure sparks straight into it.

  
If there had ever been a moment in Alys's life where she had been in control of herself, a moment when her world was not a blazing fire of lust and orgasm and pleasure and sweet, sweet sensations wrapping her every conscious fiber of being and squeezing the bliss into her or out of her or both at once...Alys certainly couldn't remember it right then.

 

** \----4----4----4----4---- **

 

  
The darkness of the earliest hours of morning surrounded her, leaving her with nothing but her own thoughts and the empty spot on the bed where Demi had laid for a little while, politely, before thanking Alys, getting up, and leaving, since she didn't need to sleep anyway. Alys was awake, and she was miserable.

  
Sex with Demi had been absolutely incredible. Probably the most pleasurable she'd ever had. The way Demi had touched her, had pleasured her, with that impossible electric, vibrating tongue, defied description. It was hard to even remember without shivering in delight, it had been so intense.

  
And fucking Demi had been great, too. Once Alys had recovered from the paradise Demi had sent her body to, she had donned her strap-on toy, the one that Rika had made her wear that night she lost control, before fucking her. Alys had told herself harshly that it was her toy, not Rika's, that it meant nothing and that she had every right to use it as she wanted, and she had proceeded to bend Demi over the bed, spread those lovely synthetic legs wide, and ram her robot muff hard and deep. Demi must have been built to be as vaginally sensitive as Rika (a comparison that Alys had scolded herself yet again for making), because it wasn't long before the cute, sweet little android woman was moaning and shaking and pleading for more like a bitch in heat, a fact that Alys told her with harsh satisfaction. It had felt good, really good, to just have this woman bent over, taking it from her as she pounded her robot pussy so hard that Demi was soon standing on her tiptoes and tearing the bedsheets apart in her passions. It had felt good just to **fuck** her, to not care and fuck her as her inner walls clamped down in climax on a dong as real as she was and sweet-smelling android spunk dribbled out of her and down the furiously thrusting shaft. And when Alys had gotten tired of that, and horny from it, Demi had obligingly put her fingers to work, fingers which turned out to be just as talented as her tongue (if not more so!). It had been exactly the hard, horny, meaningless fuck to ease tension that Alys had wanted, and better than she could have imagined it could be.

  
And so, it was making Alys absolutely miserable that as she lay in the darkness unable to sleep a wink, that she didn't feel satisfied.

  
Physically satisfied, absolutely. She was actually slightly worried about whether her ability to function tomorrow would be affected by how sore she was going to be. But overall...

  
Overall, Alys felt like something was missing. As unbelievable as it seemed, the best sex of her life had left her irritable and feeling like it had done nothing for her. Pleasure alone wasn't the only thing she craved, the only thing that was distracting her and keeping her from happiness. As amazing as this had been...it wasn't as good as making love to Rika, being held by Rika, having Rika please her and give her happiness because she loved Alys and wanted Alys to be happy. It wasn't as good as doing the same back to Rika. The pleasure of sex with Demi was so great that it was indescribable, but it still wasn't a substitute for the joy of being with Rika. It wouldn't have been even if Rika had been a lousy sexual partner (which she sure as hell wasn't!).

  
Alys pounded her fist into the torn sheets in frustration. She hated this. She hated love! Slowly but surely it was taking everything from her! Because she had loved Saya, Alys had for years suffered and been unable to open up to others out of fear of being hurt again. Because she had loved Rika, Alys had been unable to save Chaz. And now, because she couldn't stop loving Rika, Alys had lost the joy of sex. The unfairness of it brought tears to her eyes, which she angrily wiped away. Why had Saya and Rika had to happen to her? Why was love nothing but torment?


	5. Chapter 5

It had been an exhausting day, both physically and mentally, and Alys didn't know how to feel. So much had happened, so many events that played heavily on her emotions...

The party had launched a second assault on Zio and his fortress, now better prepared for the dangerous opponent, and with the addition of the considerable weaponry that Demi could bring to bear and the massive destructive power of Rune's magic, this time...this time they were victorious. It was a great comfort, a relief, to know that Chaz's killer had been brought to justice...but that relief warred with the fresh pain of Chaz's loss, brought forth by the sight of his killer, even as Zio was struck down. It was cold comfort that Zio had paid for taking Chaz's life...but it was still comfort.

Before Alys could sort these conflicting emotions out, Demi had determined that the only way to stop Nurvus would be to connect with it herself...and that this meant that she must leave her new friends, for good. Alys had grown very fond of the cheerful android, and it was a sudden, unexpected pain to have to say goodbye...but even as her heart sank, Alys had also felt the satisfaction that they had accomplished their mission...the most dangerous mission of her career, at that.  And even then, there had been more on top of that: though the group had accomplished much in ceasing the disasters plaguing their planet, in order to maintain a livable environment, they would have to travel to Zelan...in outer space. The thrill of leaving the confines of her planet mingled in Alys's mind with the exhaustion at knowing that their work was still unfinished.

On top of it all, Alys felt disappointment with herself. Her group had overcome Zio, yes, but she knew that she had not contributed to that victory as much as she should have. She had tried to focus, tried to get into the rhythm and heat of battle the same way she always had, but...no matter how she tried to focus, no matter how much she reminded herself that her team was counting on her and that Zio was too dangerous an opponent to take chances with, the premier Hunter just had not been able to fight at her best. Since meeting Rika, Alys had been at her absolute peak as a combatant, connecting and partnering with her then-lover as half of a greater fighting whole, and going back to just fighting as herself, with Rika backing her up only as much as the girl backed any of their allies...Alys had lost something, and that loss slowed her and distracted her. She had been lucky against Zio that Rika and Gryz had been on point, and that Demi and Rune could bring enough firepower to defeat Zio without Alys being at her best.

But luck didn't always last. Alys's team had been good enough to pick up her slack against Zio, but would they be able to do so every time? Just because Zio was the most dangerous opponent that most of them, Alys included, had ever encountered, that didn't mean he would be the most dangerous that they ever _would_ encounter. They were planning to leave Motavia; who knew what dangers awaited them off-planet? For all Alys knew, the next danger could dwarf even Zio's menace. She had to get her act together and lead her team, to reclaim her edge...and she had to do it _now_.

With that in mind, as the group had begun preparations to board the Nurvus shuttle and travel to Zelan, Alys had suggested that the group visit Hahn before they left, and take an evening off to rest. Rune had immediately agreed with Alys's idea, saying that it had been a day of nonstop tension and that it would be good for everyone to wind down and allow themselves to come to grips with everything that had occurred. Rika had murmured a shy agreement, still hesitant to say anything to Alys after the woman had made it so clear recently that she wanted nothing to do with her. And when Gryz had revealed that he would not be accompanying them to Zelan, but rather returning to his sister, Rune had decided a rest was more important than ever, since now it was down to only he, Alys, and Rika, and they would need to be at their best without the steady support of Gryz's axe.

At Alys's request, Rune had teleported them to Hahn and Saya's home. The pretext of this request was that Alys wanted to get Hahn up to speed on what had happened with Zio's defeat and Nurvus, and tell him where she, Rune, and Rika would be headed. The reality, though...

Alys sat on the inn mattress, nervously waiting in the darkness. She wasn't used to feeling so anxious, at least not in such a vulnerable way, but suddenly it seemed like she was the same young, headstrong, but very emotionally delicate woman she had been as a teenager...when she had been in love with Saya. It made sense, she guessed, since it was Saya she was waiting for now. The reality was, Alys had asked Rune to warp them to Hahn's home city because Alys needed to talk to Saya. She knew it was the only way to recover that edge she had lost since Chaz's death, since she had pushed Rika away. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. Alys needed to talk to Saya...honestly talk, not just politely converse in front of the party, but rather privately speak to the woman she had loved and who had hurt her, and get the closure that she had never had to that chapter of her life. Alys wanted to return to Rika, to be with her and love her again, but she couldn't do it right now, not the way she was, not the way she had been ever since Saya had left her. Something was hurt in Alys, some fundamental part of what it took to connect with someone and to trust them, and it had been hurt by Saya. Alys didn't want to go back to Rika and just fall apart again at the next tragedy that might hit them...she wanted her love for Rika to be reliable. And to fix this part of herself, she needed to understand why Saya had broken it.

There was a light tap at the door, and Alys's breath caught. After she had gotten Hahn up to speed, she, Rika, and Rune had gone to the inn, and Alys had splurged a little to give each of them a separate room. But before leaving, she had secretly pressed a note into Saya's hand, begging the blue-haired woman to meet her later that night in her room at the inn. Now Saya was here, and Alys found herself hurrying, almost running, to the door to let her in. Her hand trembled as it embraced the doorknob...on the other side of this door was the woman Alys had loved first, the one who had broken her heart...Alys had spent so long running from that pain. Could she really do this now?

She had to.

The door was opened, and Alys invited Saya in, uncertain but without hesitation.

"Hello, Alys," Saya told her softly as she stepped into the darkened room, her form lit only by starlight. "Your note...said you need to speak to me." It was a statement and a question at the same time.

Alys closed the door quietly, but did not turn to face her guest for a moment. She took a deep breath to steady herself. It was already so strange, to hear Saya speak to her...Saya's tone wasn't the polite, distant cheerful one she had been using with Alys in front of the others. It was now personal, and it was...just like it had been. Warm, pleasant, soothing...

Alys steeled herself, and turned around. She stared through the gloom into Saya's eyes, and she told her, "I want to know why you stopped loving me. What I did to make that happen."

Saya let out a deep breath, and slowly nodded. "I thought you might want to talk about...that," she said, and lowered herself to sit on the edge of the bed. She drew her arms to herself, and looked down at the floorboards, the misery on her face so strong that it was obvious even across the room in the darkness. "Did it...how much did it hurt you? I have to know."

Alys stared at her in disbelief. How could she even ask that? "What...how much do you THINK it hurt?" she answered, her voice unsteady. "I...you broke my heart! I felt like my world had ended. Like everything I wanted to build my life around was suddenly ripped away from me. I spent years trying to convince myself I was over you, but all I ever did was just try to forget about it. That pain is still with me; if it weren't, we wouldn't be here like this!"

Saya slowly nodded again, looking even more miserable than before, and she whispered, "I'm sorry, Alys. I'm sorry I hurt you like that. If it...if it helps, I...I know it wasn't anywhere near the same, but it hurt me to do that to you. I've felt guilty for how I ended things between us since the moment I walked away from you."

Alys shook her head and folded her arms tightly against her abdomen. "No," she answered, fighting back tears now. "No, it doesn't help. Why would you hurting make it any better? That just makes it worse. Please, just tell me what I did to make you stop loving me, to make you just walk away and never--"

"I didn't stop loving you!" Saya said sharply, cutting Alys off. There was silence for a moment, and then she spoke again, only a little more composed than Alys. "You didn't do anything to make me stop loving you. I lied back then...I was still in love with you, as much as ever."

"Th...Then why..."

"I was afraid," Saya stated simply. "You were already rising up the Hunter ranks so quickly, and you loved the work. I was terrified every day that the next job you took would be your last...the Hunter lifestyle is dangerous, and I made myself sick with fear that it would take you from me. And there you were, loving it, and loving me. You would talk about plans for a future for us, where we should live, what it would be like, and that was wonderful, but then the next thing out of your mouth would be the story of the latest mark you had to chase down and how narrowly you avoided disaster." She looked up at Alys, regretful tears streaking her cheeks, her voice filled with the same conflict she must have felt back then. "I'm sorry and I know that I don't know the pain I caused you, but you also don't know what it's like to have the woman you love talk about your wonderful future together and gush about how much she enjoys the thing you know, just KNOW, is going to destroy that future, all in the same breath!"

"You...you were wrong," Alys whispered, somehow feeling like it was something very important to say. "I'm still alive. We could have..."

Saya looked Alys in the eye, and shook her head with conviction. "No, I wasn't. Not about that, at least. Alys, I was there when your friend Chaz died. I saw the last breath he ever took. That could have easily been you dying in that bed instead of Chaz. It was hard for me to witness even that, and I barely knew him. If nothing else, I know I was right that I couldn't live with the constant fear that that could happen to the person I love. The thought of losing you that way became more than I could take...I had to get away."

"You could have told me how you felt," Alys said, coming to sit on the bed next to Saya. "I...I would have given up Hunting for you." But in her heart, Alys knew this wasn't right. Being a Hunter was her life, and she loved it. It gave her purpose. If Saya had been able to convince her to give it up, and Alys wasn't sure she could have, Alys would still have resented her for it for the rest of her life. That was no way to love.

Saya nodded, taking Alys's words at face value. "I could have. I should have. I did everything wrong with how I left you, I know. That's what has given me so much guilt over the years. I should have talked to you about my fears when I had a chance. I shouldn't have lied and told you I was leaving because I didn't love you...I thought it would make it easier, but obviously it didn't, and ending things on such a horrible lie haunted me. I shouldn't have left so completely and abruptly...I should have tried to at least stay in your life somehow, maybe I could have helped you move on, and you could have made my moving on easier. And I shouldn't have acted like I didn't know you, like we were never important to each other, when you came here with Hahn when you both first got mixed up in this business with Zio. I know I was right to end things between us, but everything I've done on that point has been wrong." She let out a sigh of self-reproach. "Even this conversation we're having now, which we should have had so long ago...I should have been the one to start it. Instead, I did nothing, and forced you to have to ask me."

Alys put an arm around Saya. The blue-haired woman looked at her with disbelief at this gesture of comfort coming from someone she had so deeply wronged. Alys just smiled, shedding a couple tears. Maybe she should be as upset and angry as Saya clearly thought she should be...but somehow, Alys just felt relieved, and light, and like something terrible that she had been dragging along behind her was suddenly gone. Saya had not stopped loving her, at least, not back then, not from something Alys had done. That was...wonderful to know. "You're still here. You're telling me now. You didn't run away this time...maybe you did the wrong thing all up until now, but in the end, you've done what's right, and told me. Thank you...thank you so much."

She drew Saya in for a hug then, a deep embrace that lasted and felt like it was warming each woman's soul with its affection. They didn't love each other any more, not the way they had, but they remembered that love, and this embrace was filled with the warmth of that memory. Finally, after so long, it didn't hurt to remember the love they had shared...it felt good.

"Thank you," Alys whispered again into Saya's ear, turning and kissing the woman behind that ear. This time, she was thanking Saya because she had made Alys realize something. Saya had done what she'd had to do in leaving Alys, even if she had done it the wrong way. But Rika was different. Alys had pushed Rika away because the loss of Chaz had renewed her fear of loss, the fear that Saya had instilled in her, the same fear of loss that had caused Saya to leave Alys. But Rika was not Alys, and Alys was not Saya. Saya could not have lived as Alys's girlfriend or wife, sitting at home in fear every day that the woman she loved would not return to her.

But Saya was not a warrior. Alys was. She was the *best* warrior. Alys could love Rika even though Rika was facing danger every day, danger that could kill her. Because Alys would not be at home, unable to do anything but wait. Alys would be there with Rika for every moment of every danger, guaranteeing the safety of the woman she loved with the skills and experience of the best damn Hunter that Motavia had ever seen. Alys had failed to save Chaz, but she would always be there to save Rika. She had failed Chaz because her love for Rika had been too great, had overridden her protective instincts for that important split second. She would never have such a conflict protecting Rika. She would always be there at her side to keep her safe. If Rika would take her back...Alys would never leave her again.

"Alys?" Saya whispered.

"Yes, Saya?"

Saya drew away, and looked at the Hunter, trying not to sound or look like she was pleading, even though she was. "Do you...can you forgive me, then?"

Alys leaned forward, and kissed Saya gently on the forehead. "Yes. I forgive you, Saya. And I'm even sorry I didn't realize I caused you such conflict."

"Thank you. Then...can you do me a favor? It's...very important to me." Alys nodded, and Saya took a deep breath. "Can you help me forgive myself, too?"

"Of course," Alys told her gently. She wanted Saya to leave tonight feeling as relieved and healed as she herself felt right now. She couldn't bear it if Saya continued to torment herself.

"Then...can I say goodbye to you? Like I should have? Even if it's too late to prevent the damage that was done, I want...I want to know in my heart, from now on, that we ended things the way we should have."

Alys closed her eyes fora moment in happiness. "I'd really like that, Saya. Please do."

Saya took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, Alys's breath caught for a second. Something in her eyes, in her expression looked just like Saya had, years ago, on that day. Alys actually had to force herself to be calm as a small spike of fear pierced her heart, an unconscious reaction to witnessing the look that came at that moment, the worst in her life before Chaz's death.

"Alys," she said, her voice thick with emotion, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't be with you any more. You're a Hunter, and anyone can tell you've got a great future with the Guild. There's so much good that you'll do for the world as a Hunter...and I would never want to take that away from you. But every time you take on a job, every time you go out to slay a monster or hunt down a criminal, my heart stops and I'm terrified every moment until you return. The woman I love could die at any of those moments, and I won't even know until too late. I can't live like that, Alys. That's why...I have to end this."

"I'm sorry," Alys told her, feeling for all the world like she really was years younger, like this really was that day, that they really were still in love. "I wish I had known."

"And I wish I had told you," Saya responded.

"Do you still love me?" Alys asked. She knew the answer, Saya had only told her minutes before that she had still loved Alys at this moment, but somehow, it was important to hear it now, in this moment relived, so important that Alys didn't even remember that she knew the answer.

Saya threw her arms around Alys and kissed her, shedding tears once more. "So, so much!" she told Alys, and Alys could hear the genuine, wrenching love in her voice. "That's why this has to be. If I didn't love you with all my heart, maybe I could live with this uncertainty every day...but I do, so I can't. I'm so sorry!"

"I understand," Alys told her, cradling the other woman in her arms. "I love you, too. I'm sorry it has to end...but I'm glad that we're parting ways honestly."

Saya nodded, and kissed Alys again. It was with more passion now, and Alys could feel the woman's tongue running along her lips, seeking entrance. Alys ignored her first instinct to part her lips and greet the tongue with her own, and instead pulled away. "S-Saya, what are..."

"If I have to leave you like this, I want to show you," Saya told her, voice thick with feeling. "I want you to understand that I'm not leaving because I don't love you. This is our last moment together, the last time we see each other while we're in love, and I want our goodbye to be love. I want to make sure you understand that I love you, and I want the most important thing you remember about our parting to be that love."

It was hard not to be drawn into this moment, hard not to catch the infectious passion Saya spoke with. "H-Hahn is-"

"-A wonderful man, and I'll love him very, very much someday," Saya finished in a whisper, her eyes shining with tender affection and a rising heat. "But I haven't met him yet. Right now, the only person I've ever loved is you, and this is my last chance for a long time to have that love. Someday, I'll have that love again with Hahn, but I don't know that right now. Right now, there's only you."

Saya's arms went around Alys, and slowly pulled the Hunter into a kiss. It was chaste, a simple but tender meeting, and in this kiss Alys could feel and bittersweet emotion...it was as though she could taste the essence of farewell on Saya's lips. It tasted of loss and regret, and yet there was a sweetness to it, for this was the missing moment that had been plaguing her for years. Alys welcomed it, and deepened the kiss, just as Saya did. Their tongues met, and wrapped lovingly around one another, just as their arms drew the two women closer together still.

Saya gently leaned forward, bringing Alys down until she was laying on her back. Their embrace remained firm, as did their kiss, until finally Saya had to break away to take a breath.  She took the opportunity to begin unbuttoning her simple dress, and Alys's breath hitched as it opened and was removed. She was no Rika, but Saya had always had a beautiful body, a form of flowing curves and the rare, soft skin of a Motavian woman who had the skills to make her living indoors, protected from the harsh desert environment, and she had lost none of her gentle, feminine appeal since Alys had held her years before...if anything, she was softer and curvier than ever.

Saya did not stop until she was naked, as soft, pale, and lovely as the moonlight that illuminated her, and both Alys's heart and loins fluttered at the sight. Saya came back to Alys, and the Hunter quickly took off her gloves so that she could reach out and guide the woman closer, feel her beauty once more. Saya murmured in approval as Alys let her hands slowly roam over her, caressing her gently and taking in the soft, familiar form of Alys's first beloved. It was memory mixed with reality as Alys's fingers began to gently press against the spots she knew Saya loved, and those familiar whimpers filled the air again for the first time in so many years.

Saya lowered herself down to Alys, her lips seeking the brunette's out needily. When their mouths met again, the kiss was still soft and sweet, but now Saya pressed harder against Alys, and the elegant strokes of her tongue along Alys's conveyed her need for more. Alys responded with a kiss as gentle as ever, but her hands complied with Saya's need, beginning to roam with more pressure, and purpose. A light whimper escaped from Saya and echoed through Alys's mouth as the Hunter's hands came up to run along the sides of Saya's full and pale breasts. Alys gently explored them, remembering in real time how much she loved their perfect roundness, and how pliant they were to her heated touch.  She cupped her hands around them, letting each rest gently within her palms, and began to close her hands a little, grasping Saya's chest, kneading her lovely tits and moaning herself just at the wonderful sensation of pressing her fingers into their flesh.

Saya drew back, ending their kiss and taking herself away from Alys's hold for a moment. "I love the way you do that," she whispered, her eyes shining in the soft light. "But I'm already ready for you...please, don't make me wait."

Alys licked her lips and nodded, feeling herself becoming all the wetter at Saya's sweet, lewd request. Alys loved it when her partners knew what they wanted, and told her; she loved to hear the desire spilling into their words. She brought her hands around Saya's form and once more brought the woman lower, but now she pulled her further up, too, so that Saya's breasts were before her. Alys took them in, her eyes drawn to the small nub sitting in the middle of each, pink and perked and inviting. She touched her tip to the outer ring of Saya's left areola, and her lover let out a silent breath of air at the warm, wet touch. Alys trailed her tongue once around the intimate circle, and then drew it to the nipple, covering it, pushing against it, swiping back and forth across it. Saya groaned, pleased, but still needing more.

Her wish was fulfilled as Alys trailed a hand along her side and inward, until her fingers tangled in the light blue curls between Saya's legs. Saya let out a moan and instinctively pushed her hips down a little, requesting more in the oldest kind of language. It was one which Alys was quite fluent in, and so she brought her fingers just a little further south, to trace Saya's dewy lips slowly, sensuously. Saya groaned louder this time, and Alys pushed two fingers within her. Saya gasped and trembled in delight, as Alys discovered that she had not been lying...she was warm, and inviting, and very, very wet.

Alys went to work, drawing her mouth over Saya's breast so that she could properly kiss and tease its nipple, while her fingers began to curl and dance within her blue-haired partner. Saya's eyes closed in pleasure as Alys's fingers took motion, and when the Hunter began to gently pump them in and out, Saya moved with them, back and forth, following them to keep them within one moment, the next drawing away as they did so she could thrust upon their return and draw their heavenly touch deeper within herself. Alys reveled in the soft, sweet sounds as she drove Saya higher and higher in pleasure, the light flavor of her skin, the hot and slippery pressure of her inner walls...finally, as her fingers were driving themselves hard within Saya and Saya in turn was thrusting with the single-minded manner of a woman so close to the end of her pursuit of pleasure, Alys gently drew her teeth together around Saya's nipple, giving the bud a tiny nip, and in a single motion her free hand darted down to rub a finger against Saya's exposed, throbbing clit.

Saya cried out, and clenched in climactic rhythm against Alys's fingers as orgasm washed over her mind and body. Alys was still for a moment, watching her first love's face contort in bliss...and then, at the moment Saya seemed to be coming down from her climax, Alys moved her mouth to her other breast and repeated her bite upon the until now untouched nipple, and began to vigorously tap her finger against Saya's clitoris as her other fingers resumed their frenzied motions within Saya. Saya cried out even louder this time as she came again, this orgasm following so closely on the heels of the first that to her it was one continuous smattering of pleasure. Her body shook and she could no longer support herself as her muscles quaked helplessly in delight, and she collapsed down onto Alys, who drew her arm around Saya to hold her close as she rode out the pleasure that Saya's other hand still delivered her, that tempo of clit taps that hammered her with bliss. Finally, Saya's long climax ended, and the woman lay with limp comfort and affection against Alys.

"Thank you, Alys," she whispered, raising her head to look into the warrior's eyes. Alys smiled as she gazed back. She had missed seeing that mix of emotion that the woman had always expressed so clearly within her eyes. Deep affection, simple happiness, the pleased and relaxed relief that came after a good climax...and this time, gratitude, for allowing Saya to make right her mistake in the past.

"You're welcome, Saya," she told her, just as quietly. Then she rose into a sitting position, gently pushing Saya away for the moment, and told her, in a tone far more characteristically confident and sultry, "But we're not done yet!"

Alys gave Saya a playful shove, and the blue-haired woman fell down against the mattress with a surprised giggle. Deciding that it was high time she have some fun for herself, Alys began to quickly undress herself, tossing each garment removed away from her with an exaggerated flourish. She disrobed quickly, concerned more with speed than putting on a show, but nonetheless Saya smiled and licked her lips with interest as she watched.

Once she was as naked as Saya, Alys began to lower herself down to the woman below her, but Saya held up a hand to halt her. "Sit back for a minute...I want to look at you," she requested. Alys complied, drawing back to rest on her knees and straddle Saya's thighs, letting the moonlight fully illuminate her.

Saya reached out and ran her soft hand along Alys's muscled midriff. "You're stronger even than you were then..." she murmured, sounding both impressed and enticed. Her hand began to trace along the remnant of an old wound that Alys had suffered during a job that had pitted her against a gang of raiders a dozen strong.  "And you have so many scars now..."

Alys was afraid for a moment that this meant that she was displeasing to look at for Saya, but then Saya continued, her voice almost awed. "You've become so strong...and done so much. I'm...I'm so glad that you could pursue your dreams, and do so much, since then."

"Not 'since then,'" Alys corrected her gently, reminding Saya of what this final fun was meant to be. "These are all things to come, remember? Right now, I'm still just a rookie."

Saya nodded, but her hand stayed where it was, fingers still trailing the scar's length. "Yes, of course, but...if you don't mind, could you stay there, for now? I want to...I want to look at how beautiful and amazing you'll become, without needing me there..." She took a shuddering breath as her eyes roamed from one scar to another, and took in the toned, steely muscle of Alys's frame. Then, as if she just couldn't contain herself, she blurted out, "Oh my god, you're so hot!"

Alys grinned. The ladies just couldn't resist a nice set of girl abs.

Pleased and eager to give Saya a show, but feeling at this point like she was about to burst with need, Alys changed her position slightly, repositioning one of her knees in between Saya's limbs. Picking up on what Alys wanted, Saya lifted the leg that had just been freed up a little, and out of Alys's way. Alys then leaned back, making sure that she was still in the light for Saya's enjoyment, and rocked her hips forward a little. She let out a happy sigh as her lower lips delivered a kiss to Saya's, the pressure both providing some relief to her desire, yet at the same time stoking it higher. Alys pulled back, and pushed herself forward again, and again, setting up a rhythm, and Saya rose up on her elbows so that she could begin to push back. Alys was moist with desire and Saya was glistening with the aftermath of her orgasm, making each thrust a smooth, slippery, ecstatic sensation against each woman. They rubbed and they thrust, over and over, slowly but surely increasing their speed and power. Grunting, moaning, faster and harder, crushing their pussies against one another, each rising to her climax and seeking it all the harder the closer it got, and her efforts only increasing her partner's pleasure; Alys threw her head back as she hit the very edge, eyes closing in concentration on that rim of bliss, and for all that Saya moaned and huffed and thrust she kept her eyes on Alys's form the whole time, wide so she could take in that lithe, powerful form, and finally each woman shifted her weight onto one hand for her last, final thrusts, with Saya using her newly freed hand to grab one of her own breasts and tweak its nipple as Alys brought her fingers down to her own clit and began to lightly but vigorously slap it.

Alys cried out as she pushed herself over the edge, senses awash in good agony as her movements became as erratic and carnal as the wonderful clenching climax inside her. Whether it was from seeing her partner hit her peak or perhaps the extra lubrication of Alys's oozing cum allowing her to push harder than ever comfortably, Saya let out a shriek and came as well.

Their nearly simultaneous climax brought them together in final, frenzied, climactic thrusts, and gradually slowed them as they came down from their pleasure heights, until finally they found that they lay in each other's arms, chests rising gently against one another in a quiet, slow mirror of what they had just engaged in.

"I should return soon," Saya whispered, although without much conviction. Alys said nothing. She was too happy with the quiet moment, too relaxed in Saya's arms, too comfortable with the feel of Saya's gentle skin against hers and the unattended damp remainder of their passion cooling between her thighs.

"Before I do, though," Saya continued, looking hopefully into Alys's eyes, "would you...take me like you used to? The way I liked?"

As a general rule, Alys never refused an attractive woman asking her for more sex, and she wasn't about to change that habit now. Nodding, she got up and off the bed, and went to her equipment sack, with Saya's appreciative eyes following her all the way. After a moment of rummaging, during which she made sure she was bent over in a most pleasing way for Saya to see, Alys found the item she was seeking: her pale blue, ridged jelly strap-on. With the ease of intimate familiarity, Alys slipped it on and affixed it just right so that every thrust would push it up against her clit. No reason Saya had to be the only one who got off on this next part, after all!

Saya lay back and spread her legs eagerly as Alys made her way back to the bed. As traditional and mild a woman as Saya was, the way she liked was actually just the old-fashioned position of having her lover atop her while she was lying on her back. But Alys certainly had no problem with that! She positioned herself over Saya, aligning their bodies, and when she was satisfied that things were just right, Alys leaned down and captured Saya's lips one last time. Saya eagerly kissed her back, and as their tongues met and danced, Alys lowered her other half, bringing her toy's tip to Saya's entrance and slowly pushing it into her. Saya gasped into the kiss, and brought her arms up to embrace Alys, pulling the Hunter further down and into her. Alys kept going until Saya had swallowed the entire length of her soft blue member, and Saya responded to the satisfying fullness by wrapping up and around Alys's lower half, her soft calves resting across Alys's firm ass.

Alys drew herself away and almost out, and then pushed in once more. Saya grunted and closed her eyes as the rounded ridges bumped and tugged at her, and the friction from her walls trying to grasp at the moving gel dick sent pulses of pleasure through her pussy. She moaned with lusty abandon and began to pump herself up to meet with Alys's thrusts, and her hands unclasped from behind Alys's back and dropped down to grasp at Alys's breasts, pulling and plying them as Alys rammed her over and over. Alys bit her lip as her passions rose; the friction of the toy against her clit was bringing her to another climax just as surely as watching the woman below her squirm and moan at her every movement was. Finally, sensing how close Saya was, Alys brought herself down hard and fast and as deep as she possibly could, crushing her groin against Saya's as her blue-capped sex sucked in every last fraction of the dildo. The front of the harness met Saya's muff and ground against her clit, and with a scream of Alys's name, Saya came. Her legs held Alys as tightly against her as she could while she thrust wildly up and into the pleasure racking her, and her hands grasped wildly at Alys's tits as her cunny did at the gel cock filling it. Alys grunted at the uncomfortable pressure Saya was putting on her breasts, but she was so close now to her own climax, the pain was also enjoyable, any stimulus was transforming itself into pleasure at this point, and as Saya was in the throes of her orgasm below, Alys pushed herself against her old lover as hard as she could, grinding herself against the harness front that separated them. Gasping and gritting her teeth as she felt herself catching up with her satisfaction, running it down, she ground harder against the toy and the quaking woman below her. Finally, she hit her peak, and fell over the edge of pleasure. As Saya began to calm from her own orgasm, Alys hit hers, humping wildly against Saya as she squeezed every orgasmic drop of bliss from her body. Finally, she collapsed into Saya's waiting and welcoming arms.

They lay quietly against each other for what felt like hours; maybe it was. Alys felt a contentment and an emotional satisfaction she had not felt for a long time...years. Saya did not love her any more...but she had loved her once, and Alys had loved her back, and that would always be between and with them. With this, this proper goodbye that was done in that love of the past...there was a wholeness in Alys's heart now.

 

** \----4----4----4----4---- **

 

"I need to get going," Saya said as the first rays of morning light began to shine through the window.

Alys nodded, wearing a cocky smirk. "Sure, sure...thanks for coming by."

"What are you grinning about?" Saya asked as she began to get dressed.

Alys laid back against the pillow, her arms crossed behind her head. "Just enjoying the fact that you couldn't resist coming back for just one more time with me."

Saya blushed. "That was...that was for both of us, and you know it! An apology, and a goodbye, you jerk!" she insisted, caught between embarrassment and laughter.

Alys winked and gave a genuine smile. "I know. And thank you. I really do appreciate it. It meant a lot to me."

"Me, too. Thank you for letting me have this with you, Alys...I feel like I can go forward much more honestly now." Saya turned around and bent down to pick up her blouse. A moment later, she felt Alys's hand deliver a light, playful smack on her ass. She turned around to see Alys wearing her smirk again.

"But just out of curiosity," Alys said now that she had Saya's attention once more, "Who's better, me or Hahn? Which one of us gives the best fuck, hm?"

Saya's blush deepened, and she rolled her eyes. "That's now why I'm marrying him. Anyway, I'm not going to answer that."

"I think you just did," Alys grinned.

"You know, I think I'm glad I got out before before this "insufferable lady-killer" personality emerged in you," Saya told her with goodnatured exasperation. Alys laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

Alys stood within her home, the home that she had shared with Chaz, looking it over with a hint of regret. She wished that she had spent more time here with him, while they were partners. As the top Hunter team on the planet, there was always so much work ready for them that they had spent very little time here during their partnership. The hot, open sands of Motavia, its mountain pathways and rare grassy fields, had been more the home of Alys and Chaz than this place. Alys wouldn't have thought that was a bad thing...but now, standing in the lonely dwelling, she realized that even though she might not be returning here for some time, she didn't really feel much of a sense of loss at that. There just weren't really any memories of Chaz here to say farewell to.  
  
Alys sighed. It was too late to dwell on lost opportunities. She would just have to learn from her mistakes and make sure that she built some meaningful memories of home here with Rika, once this matter was finally settled and Motavia was safe...or at least, as safe as the rough, barely tamed planet ever was. She just hoped she hadn't already ruined her chances...  
  
At any rate, Alys wasn't here to reminisce or regret not being able to. There was something she needed.  The Hunter made her way to her room, and found what she was looking for, then exited her home. Rika and Rune were waiting for her. Theirs had suddenly become such a small group, with Chaz's death, Hahn's and Gryz's exit to return to their homes, and Demi's staying behind to try to get the world's climate systems under control. Their party needed an edge, now, and Alys could provide it.  
  
"Going back to your roots, I see," Rune commented approvingly, seeing what she was holding.  
  
Alys nodded. She unsheathed the sword in her hands, and held the blade aloft, giving it a few test swings to get the feel back for its weight. "With Gryz staying here, and Chaz...dead, what our team needs now isn't the range of a slicer, but the steadfast dependability of a sword. I need to be able to stand between our foes and you, Rune, when you're casting your spells, and I need to be able to do the same for you, Rika, when you're keeping us healthy."  
  
"But Alys, are you sure? I can take care of the close combat myself; you don't need to use a weapon you're unfamiliar with," Rika offered hesitantly. Alys almost winced at her tone...the girl she loved was so reserved with her now, clearly afraid of angering Alys again...as if it had been something she had done in the first place, and not Alys treating her poorly. _(I'll fix that soon, though, just as soon as I have a moment alone with her..._ )  
  
Rune let out a laugh, and Rika turned to him. "Unfamiliar with a sword? Alys is the greatest swordswoman I've ever seen, by a wide margin. And trust me, I've seen a few in my time," he told the pink-haired woman.  
  
"Who do you think Chaz was learning swordplay from?" Alys asked, with a note of pride. "I'm a crack shot with a slicer, and I've been using them for a while now to compliment Chaz's offense with some ranged support, but make no mistake, this is my weapon of expertise."  
  
She sheathed the sword, and nodded toward the distance. "Now, let's go meet this Wren. Next stop, Zelan."

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
"Looks like the course is set, and this ship runs on auto-pilot," Rune noted with satisfaction as he scanned the control console of the ship that was now ferrying them to Zelan. "Unless a situation arises where we need to specifically take control of the ship, which I really hope does not happen, we can just sit back and relax for a bit."  
  
Alys nodded neutrally, but inside she was quite pleased. This was just what she had needed. "Good to know, Rune. In that case...Rika, could I speak to you privately?" she requested, indicating the door at the back of the cockpit which led to the main area of the craft.  
  
Rika nodded, and the two women proceeded to the back room of the shuttle. It wasn't much for atmosphere, just an empty, metal space, no doubt designed more with the intention of containing as much cargo as possible than for providing an aesthetically pleasing backdrop to a heartfelt conversation, but it would do.  
  
"What can I help you with?" Rika asked as she entered, closing the door behind her. Her voice sounded normal, but her eyes did not quite rise to meet Alys's. Alys felt a pang in her heart as she realized again just how badly she had been mistreating Rika.  
  
Well, no more. Alys took a deep breath, and reached out for Rika's hand. The girl let Alys take it, and hesitantly brought her eyes to look into Alys's.  
  
"Rika, I'm sorry," Alys told her plainly. She drew the girl's hand to herself, and held it cupped within both of her own. "I've been distant to you, and I was downright hostile after Zio...after he killed Chaz."  
  
Rika shook her head sadly. "You don't have to apologize for that. You were upset that Chaz...died. I was, too...we all were, even Rune. But you were the closest to him. I understand...it's okay, Alys."  
  
Sometimes, Alys really could not help but marvel at Rika. Brand new to the world, innocent and childlike, yet capable of more wisdom than worldly Alys herself was. Still, Alys would not give into the temptation to let herself just accept Rika's forgiveness, at least not before the Numan woman knew the truth of the matter. "No, Rika, it's not okay. If it was just that, I would have been back with you the next day, once I had calmed down a little. But I pushed you away, instead."  
  
Rika looked away, pain in her eyes. "I know, Alys. I figured it out myself, that if it had just been that you were upset, you wouldn't have stayed so cold. You realized you don't love me any more, right? Is that what you're here to tell me?" Her voice broke.  
  
It hit Alys like a punch in the gut, to hear the conclusion that Rika had come to. She didn't know why she was surprised, of course, it was a logical conclusion for the girl to have come to; hell, Alys herself had tried to convince herself of that very idea when she'd taken Demi to bed...Demi. Alys was going to have to tell Rika about having sex with the pretty android, and Saya, too. But that would have to wait. Right now, she had to correct the terrible assumption that her girlfriend was suffering through.  
  
"I didn't push you away because I don't love you, Rika. I pushed you away because I _do_ love you," Alys declared, drawing the shorter girl in for a hug. "The pain of losing Chaz...in all my life, you, Rune, Chaz, and one other, are the only people I've ever opened up to and let in. I've known Rune the longest, but our connection is mostly friendly respect, nothing that truly connects us deeply. But Chaz was like a...a friend, and a little brother, almost a son, and losing someone I loved like that was a pain I had never felt before, the worst I've ever had. I would have gladly died in his place...I probably would have, if I hadn't been distracted for just a split second by my worry for you. I was angry at you for that for a little while, which was completely unfair, and I feel ashamed of it. But after that anger was gone, I was...I was terrified."  
  
Alys tightened her hold on Rika, and continued. "A long time ago, I was in love with Saya, Hahn's fiancee...she's the other person I mentioned who I let in. She left me very suddenly, and it hurt me pretty badly, enough that I kind of just gave up on the idea of loving another woman...until I met you, that is, and had a chance to see just how incredible it is to be with someone who just perfectly compliments you in every possible way. My heart was open again...and then Chaz died, and it hurt like nothing ever had. Saya losing me had hurt me enough to change my world view, losing Chaz hurt even worse...and there I was, as in love with you as I ever was with Saya, still trying to stop the same dangerous man who had killed Chaz. What if you died, too? I couldn't handle the possibility of dealing with loss like that again.  
  
"I tried to convince myself that I didn't need you. That I could stop loving you, and had. But it didn't work...in desperation, I talked with Saya last night, about the reasons that she left me. It turned out that she did it because she was afraid of losing me...just like I was afraid of losing you. And she knows that she was wrong to do that, and it made me see that it's wrong to try to run away from you for that reason, too. What I've been doing to you...it's exactly the same kind of pain that Saya caused for me, for the same reasons, and it's wrong. So, Rika..."  
  
Apparently able to stay quiet no longer, Rika looked imploringly into Alys's eyes, and asked, her voice quivering with hope, "Then does that mean...does that mean that you still love me, Alys? Can we be together again? Oh, please, please say yes!"  
  
Alys gave a little chuckle. Here she was, about to beg Rika to forgive her now that the girl knew the truth, and Rika had already jumped straight past that to the reconciliation. She really did have a big and generous heart, Rika did, and for the first time in too long, Alys's own heart warmed at just how lucky she was to have the love of such a person.  
  
Still, they weren't all the way past this. Alys still had to confess to Rika that she had made love to Demi and Saya. "Of course I still love you, Rika. I couldn't stop even when I wanted to. You're the woman I want to be with, forever...and if you want to be my girlfriend again, I would be very happy. But I need to--"  
  
She had meant to tell Rika then and there that she had been unfaithful to the girl during their sort-of separation...but Rika's joy was simply too great to wait for Alys to finish, and the pink-haired woman practically leaped up to draw Alys into a sudden, passionate kiss that conveyed every bit of longing and misery and love that Alys herself had felt during this difficult time between them. The Hunter could not help but get caught up entirely in the kiss, pouring her own need and regret and utter happiness back into Rika's lips.  
  
Goddess, Alys had missed this. No one kissed the way that Rika did, with soft, meek adoration wrapped in an almost feral passion. Alys closed her eyes in carnal delight as Rika's lips left hers and began to apply their sweet, sucking affection to her cheek, her jawline, and down along her neck. Alys's breath hitched as Rika took a moment to suckle extra hard on her collarbone, and a familiar, lusty fire began to ignite within her. Rika was removing her clothing now as she peppered sexy little smooches along Alys's shoulder...Alys knew she really needed to push Rika back for a moment, that she shouldn't let her girlfriend continue this without Alys confessing to her infidelity...  
  
Rika laid a soft, almost worshipful kiss into the now exposed valley between Alys's breasts, and Alys let out a joyous moan. Had she been thinking something just now...?  
  
Rika made a trail with her lips that circled lazily around Alys's left breast, as her hands set to removing the rest of Alys's outfit. It was a faulty orbit of kisses, though, and Alys's breathing became more and more excited as Rika closed in on her nipple. Finally Rika drew the nub between her lips, and Alys groaned in delight at the sweet pleasure that hit her. She brought her hands to Rika, and began to caress the girl encouragingly. Rika, however, drew back, Alys's nip escaping her lips with a tiny, wet pop, and took Alys's hands in her own. She shook her head gently, and brought Alys's hands away from herself, and down to rest on Alys's breasts.  
  
"Just you," she whispered, and Alys understood. Much as she would have liked to reciprocate, right now it seemed that Rika wanted the focus only to be on showing her love for Alys.  
  
Alys was okay with this.  
  
Rika's lips returned to the top Hunter's flesh, lower now, drawing a pleasurable, soft, and at times ticklish line down Alys's strong, toned chest and stomach. Alys fought the urge to squirm as Rika's tongue gently dipped into her belly button, wriggling slow and teasing for a moment. Her heart was racing, she could feel it, as every succulent, sweet touch of lips against her brought Alys more anticipation for Rika's arrival at the place she most desired her. Goddess, Rika was making her so, so wet, her core was a pulsing, needy liquid inferno frantic for her lover's igniting touch!  
  
Rika was set on taking her time, however, and no lusty moan could persuade her to hurry.  As she began to kiss in little circles that only descended south lazily, Alys tried to feed her desires by grasping and kneading her own breasts, desperate for direct pleasure. Yet even as she pinched her nipples between her fingers, the jolts of joy did nothing but stoke Alys's need further.  
  
Finally, Rika arrived at Alys's hot, seeping pussy, and Alys breathed a sight of aroused relief. Release would be soon! Sooner than she thought, in fact, for whereas Alys had expected Rika to keep the same slow pace as she had been using thus far, the girl suddenly became direct and forceful, pressing her face into Alys's muff and sliding her tongue into the older woman's vagina energetically. Alys let out a small shriek at the unexpected speed and power, unprepared for the pleasure that suddenly crashed down upon her body. Her body arched in delight, and seemed to push Rika away for a moment - but in reality, Rika simply took this moment to end her deep kiss with Alys's slick flower, and instead bring her tongue to bear against Alys's protruding clitoris instead. Alys let out another shriek, louder this time, as her body was thrown into the orgasm it craved yet did not expect, the waves of pleasure beginning to pound insistently against her even as her ass hit back against the floor.  
  
As Alys rode her pleasure, Rika brought her tongue back down to her now quaking snatch, and began to lightly probe against it, her soft and careful motions and pressure a stark contrast to the frantic, clenching pulsations wracking Alys's womanhood. She held Alys's trembling thighs and continued to gently lick and suck through the woman's orgasm, until Alys lay glowing and breathing deeply afterward.  
  
Her climax over, Alys attempted to sit up, ready to return the favor, but Rika's grasp held her thighs in place. Before Alys could ask, Rika drew her tongue back in her mouth for a moment, and looked with gentle, loving eyes at the glistening pussy before her. "Just you," she whispered softly, adoringly into Alys's folds.  
  
"Okay...just me," Alys accepted, heart feeling full to bursting at how wonderful it was to be loved like this.  
  
Rika went back to work, and Alys just lay back and let the feelings wash over her. Rika ate her out slowly and gently, her tongue dragging languidly against her inner pleasures. Sometimes Rika would simply stroke, sometimes she would gently throb her tongue against Alys's warm, weeping walls, and sometimes she would take a moment to gently slurp and suck at her lover's luscious flesh, or nibble lightly upon a lip swollen with desire. It was a new way of lovemaking for Rika, and Alys enjoyed it in all its slow, splendid luxury. Her body trembled with no less need even as it relaxed into this sex and serenity, and each time Rika found her ready, she would gently stroke or kiss Alys's clit, and send her smoothly over the edge. Alys allowed the pleasure of climax to come to her, again and again, its waves of bliss bearing her calmly each time, rather than crashing through her as orgasms usually did, and she found that every time the tides of her climax receded, they carried her only a little way from the shore's edge before Rika's tongue sent a new wave to bring her back.  
  
She didn't know how long they went on like that, Rika making love to her with such sweet, steady succor that it felt like a warm, quaking dream of delight, but eventually, Alys found herself lying in a daze on the floor of the shuttle cargo bay with Rika cradled in her arms close against her, the pleasant cool, sticky feeling on her thighs and pooling below her a testament to the wonderful experience Rika had given her. As Alys began to come properly back to her senses, Rune's voice, fuzzy with the static of the intercom it was broadcasting through, filled the quiet air.  
  
"We're on approach to our destination. I give it five minutes at most before we land. This would be a good time to find and put back on any articles of clothing that just magically leaped off you both during the past hour."  
  
Alys chuckled, and gently roused Rika, who opened her eyes and stared with wordless love at the Hunter. Alys gazed back for a moment, hoping that her eyes could convey even a fraction of how much she loved the woman she held, before telling her, "Rune says we're nearly there...I need to get dressed, and then we need to join him in the cockpit."  
  
Rika nodded her understanding, and the two women broke their embrace and stood. Alys began to gather her articles of clothing, while Rika, who was fully dressed still, watched her with happiness shining in her eyes.  
  
"I'm so happy we're together again," she said after a moment, shy but assertive. "I love you."  
  
Alys straightened, and smiled back at her. "I love you too, Rika. And I promise, I'm never going to pretend that's not the truth ever again."  
  
Rika positively beamed, and without another word, she stepped out of the room to join Rune in the cockpit. Alys began to get dressed once more, feeling alive and ready for anything. Rika was her dream girl, a strong, reliable support and equal in combat, and a soft, caring, cheerful woman who complimented Alys's every trait perfectly. Alys understood why she had allowed herself to almost lose that...Chaz's death had been difficult. But she would never let herself be so foolish ever aga--  
  
Alys paused in pulling on her footwear as the memory of her actions after Chaz's death flashed in her mind. She hadn't told Rika everything! Rika had distracted Alys before she could confess to having slept with Demi and Saya! Alys bit her lip worriedly as she finished dressing. Damn her overactive libido! She shouldn't have let Rika touch her before the pink-haired woman knew the full truth of what Alys had been getting up to during their emotional separation. Suddenly, what they had just done together seemed less like a loving reunion, and more like Alys taking advantage of her eager girlfriend's innocent affection. She hadn't meant to get carried away like that...  
  
Alys sighed. It was too late to tell Rika now; they had business on this space station that obviously was more important to deal with. She'd just have to tell Rika at the next available opportunity...and hope that the woman would still forgive her. If not, then...then Alys would find some way to earn that forgiveness. Alys was through pretending that she could live without the love of Rika.

 


	7. Chapter 7

The satellite Zelan had been blessedly free of danger, marking the first time in Alys's life that she gone through the halls of a technologically advanced structure and not been attacked every step of the way by killer robots of all shapes and sizes. It was a nice change.  
  
Zelan was not, however, entirely empty. Standing before Alys, Rika, and Rune now, in the central room of the satellite, was an exceptionally tall man encased in mechanical armor, who had introduced himself as Wren, the android that they had come to see: Demi's creator, Rika's pen pal, and protector of the environmental systems for every planet in the solar system. It was an impressive resume, although Rika took more note of the android's height than anything else...not that Alys could particularly blame her. They assembled them big where Wren came from, apparently.  
  
Wren brought the group up to speed with an efficiency that was more congenial than a machine, yet more robotic than a human. It was interesting to watch and listen to him. He spoke with an amiable tone and expression, yet one that was not entirely convincing, in some elusive way. He was not lifeless, and it was clear he was earnest and meant no harm, but all the same, there was something missing about his movements and expression, a certain lack of animation that made it clear that he was an artificial creature. It was an interesting contrast to Demi, whose earnest kindness and gentle enthusiasm had made her more human than many "real" people that Alys knew.  
  
To point, Wren explained, the satellite where they stood had lost its ability to perform its function, and the environmental systems were now in the control of a secondary station, Kuran, which had apparently been occupied by some unknown but presumably hostile entity. It was clear that the next step would be to go there and wrest control back from whoever had usurped it, and Alys said so.  
  
Wren nodded precisely, and agreed, "That is what I had hoped from you all. Alys, if it is OK with you, may I accompany you? Zelan is presently completely cut off from all the other systems. It is impossible to do any system restoration from here. I was hoping to go to Kuran to get the situation under control."  
  
"Oh Wren, it would be so reassuring if you came with us!" Rika exclaimed, pleased.  
  
Alys could only agree. "If you're packing anywhere near the kind of firepower Demi was, you'd be a great asset to our team, and honestly, I don't think any of us would be qualified to tamper with the systems at Kuran anyway."  
  
"Actually, I am approximately 40% more combat-capable than Demi," Wren responded. "Demi's purpose and my desire to allow her a greater share of the human experience necessitated many defensive and offensive systems to be cut back or eliminated. While still potentially an exceptionally efficient and powerful combat unit, I followed other priorities in her design."  
  
_(Yeah, priorities like making her one sexy little piece of robotic ass)_ , Alys thought to herself.  
  
Thankfully not designed with mind-reading capabilities, Wren continued, "I am pleased by your acceptance of my assistance. I will, however, require approximately eight hours' time before I am ready to leave. Your prowess in leadership and combat has exceeded my projections, Ms. Brangwin, and thus you have arrived before I have finished making necessary arrangements for my absence. I apologize."  
  
Alys shrugged. "No problem with me. We'll just rest up until you're ready." In fact, Alys realized, this was a good opportunity to finish coming clean to Rika, better than the shuttle ride here would have been. They would have enough time now to really talk through this and deal with whatever emotional fallout came of it, or at least get a good start on doing so. Alys hoped Rika would understand...  
  
What if she didn't? What if Rika was really hurt that Alys has slept with Demi and Saya? What if Rika didn't want to be with Alys any more because of it? What if--  
  
No, Alys told herself, forcing herself to slow her breathing and heart, both of which had been rapidly speeding up. Considering what would come of this would only discourage her from coming clean. Rika had to know the truth.  
  
She turned to her girlfriend. "Rika, while Wren is getting ready, can I speak with you privately?"  
  
Rika nodded, her eyes lighting up. Alys couldn't honestly say whether it was because Rika mistakenly thought Alys was suggesting they sneak away and make love, or just because Rika cherished every moment of attention Alys gave her. Alys felt a stab in her chest at the thought that what she was about to tell the girl would hurt her, maybe devastate her.  
  
Rune's suspicions, on the other hand, were not ambiguous. He sighed in mild irritation, and remarked, "If you two keep using every rest period to "speak" with each other like this, you're going to be too tired to be of any use when you're needed."  
  
"It's not like that," Alys insisted, as she and Rika stepped out of the command center and into the hallway. "We really do just need to talk."  
  
Alys led Rika away from the satellite station's center, into a small room to the side, where she and the others had found some useful equipment stored. She stood for a moment, looking at the ground and trying to banish the fears in her head. Was the truth really worth risking Rika for? She didn't know how much pain this would cause the naive, sweet girl she loved. Did Rika really need to know at all? She'd never find out otherwise; Saya would never tell, and surely Demi would keep it a secret if Alys asked...  
  
"What did you need to talk to me about?" Rika asked.  
  
Alys raised her head, looked Rika in the eye, and stated, quickly and forcefully, "Rika, Saya and I did more than just talk. We...had sex."  
  
Rika was silent for a moment, before asking, "What?", her expression confused.  
  
"I'm sorry," Alys told her. "It was...I needed closure. We both did. Finally knowing why she left me was important, and helped me, but it still didn't feel like...like quite enough, somehow. We needed to be able to say goodbye as though we were still back then, together. We needed to make love one last time, as Alys and Saya back then."  
  
Rika was quiet for a moment, and she appeared to be still more confused. Alys's heart pounded. What did that mean?  
  
Finally, Rika spoke. "Well...it sounds like that was a very good experience for you, Alys. And it helped us make up! It seems like this is something I should be very glad about, but then why are you sorry?"  
  
Alys was the top-ranked Hunter on Motavia, a warrior who never lost her cool. So her jaw didn't drop. But it definitely wanted to.  
  
"I - I cheated on you, Rika!" Alys exclaimed.  
  
Rika wrinkled her nose as she tried to understand Alys's words. "Cheat? Like in a game? But we've never played any."  
  
_(Rika doesn't even know what cheating is)_ , Alys finally realized. _(Sheesh! Seed really did leave some major things out of her education...)_  
  
Alys explained the concept to Rika. Strangely, however, even though her explanation was quite simple, Rika looked only more confused when she was finished.  
  
"People in love can't ever have sex with anyone else? Really?" Rika asked, her voice uncharacteristically sounding like this was an incredibly stupid idea. "Why not?"  
  
Alys blinked, not having expected such a question. "Well, because making love is supposed to be special for people in love. Like when we do...being with you is different from any other sex I've ever had. Seeing you, touching you, knowing I'm making you happy...it makes it wonderful," she tried to explain.  
  
Rika blushed and smiled, but at the same time, did not look satisfied with the answer. "I feel the same way when I'm with you, Alys, but, it still doesn't make much sense to me. Think about how we met, how we fought together so perfectly, and still do. When I fight by your side, I know you're the perfect compliment to everything I do, and we know just what the other wants to do and how to help them. It's very special to me, and you've told me how special it is to you that I can be your partner that way. Fighting alongside Rune isn't like that, and it wasn't like that when we fought with Hahn, Demi, Chaz, or Grys. But that didn't mean I stopped fighting with them, just because it was something you and I do that we make more special together! So why should people in love decide they can't have sex with other people? It's still going to be special when they're together in a way that it isn't with other people, right?"  
  
Alys had not been expecting such a sound argument from naive little Rika. Then again, sometimes naivety allowed for a more penetrating insight, since it was free from the social dogma that muddied other people's senses. Could that be the case here? What Rika was saying was undeniably true. There were many activities that lovers did together that were more special than they would be with others, but were still perfectly acceptable to do with friends or even just acquaintances. Was there any other reason for the taboo?  
  
The potential for children, of course, was a sensible reason to abstain, but only a single form of sex could result in that. Was there any other reason lovers should have to be sexually exclusive? Alys was uncomfortable with the idea, as she had been raised to be, but if she couldn't really defend it...  
  
"Besides," Rika continued earnestly, "Sex isn't just about being with people you love. Rune's told me that you've had sex with lots of girls before you met me that you didn't love. And you don't love Demi, right?"  
  
"You already knew I slept with Demi?" Alys exclaimed.  
  
Rika nodded cheerfully. "Of course! Your scent was all over her afterward."  
  
"And you weren't upset? Not at all?" Alys asked, bewildered. Taking her infidelity in stride was one thing. That has been important for she and Saya emotionally. But her tryst with Demi had been purely carnal...did Rika really not care at all? And, Alys found herself wondering now, was that good? Was that actually how it should be? Rika seemed so sure in her simple logic...  
  
"Well...well, I was sad at that time, but that was because I thought I'd made you hate me somehow. But having sex with Demi wasn't what made me think that; I'd already come to that conclusion because of how you were treating me," Rika recalled, with an unhappy frown on her face that caused a small spike of guilt to dig into Alys. "But that's all. Why be upset? Demi is very attractive! Besides, even if I understood this "cheating" thing, it would be wrong to be angry with you over that. I had sex with her, too."  
  
This time her jaw did drop. "You what!?" Alys asked, flabbergasted.  
  
Rika nodded, smiling. Her eyes unfocused a little as she remembered, and she seemed to even shiver at the pleasure of the memory. "Oh, yes, absolutely! It was the same night, in fact! With everything that had been happening, I couldn't sleep at all. Halfway through the night, Demi came down into the inn's lounge, and..." Rika closed her eyes in delight, and one of her hands rose up to rest gently on her armor's chest. "...she was just... **reeking** of your scent, Alys. It was all over her, and she doesn't have much of her own smell, so it was even easier to pick up on. Just her walking into the room was like breathing you in after we've made love...made love a _lot!_ "  
  
Rika gave a small mewl at the recollection, and suddenly her hands went to her back. Within a moment, she had undone her armor, and it fell to the ground. Alys wanted to say something, but Rika continued speaking, giving her no chance to interrupt. "I was already feeling very pent-up. I probably would have gone over to her anyway. But smelling you like that, after going days without even a smile from you, I couldn't help myself at all. I went over, and asked her if she would please, please come to bed with me!" Rika's voice at this moment was earnest with desire and desperation. She had almost certainly asked with this exact tone.

Alys could see it in her head. Rika, breathing heavy, her eyes half-lidded as they always got when her desire for Alys was overwhelming her, in front of Demi, Demi whose synthetically perfect body must still have shone with the sweat it had taken from being pressed against Alys just minutes before...  
  
"Her lips were glistening," Rika recalled dreamily, and with one of her hands, she began to gently rub one of her breasts through her bra. "I had never seen them like that before, and I couldn't figure it out...she doesn't have saliva, she's a robot. And then, when they parted as she told me that she would enjoy that very much, I realized they were glistening with what you had left on them." Rika shuddered. "She had eaten you out, and she didn't realize...mmm, she didn't realize that she was wearing your cum like lip gloss!"  
  
Rika moaned, and Alys couldn't help letting out a little gasp of her own as she watched Rika reach behind herself once more to undo her bra. Goddess, what an image! Sweet, innocent Demi, who had used her tongue to fuck Alys in ways she'd never dreamed of, walking about in front of other people with Alys's pussy cream upon her lips...!  
  
"I lost it right at that second. I kissed her in front of everyone there, as hard as I kiss you when I get overexcited," Rika recalled, as her bra was undone. Her beautiful tits lay free, nipples hard and pointed, and Alys gulped. Her breathing was getting heavier, and she was squirming a little now as she felt her own nipples pressing harder against her clothing. "Her mouth was so strange, compared to human mouths...the only moisture in it was what you had given her. But that was a lot...it made the experience so..." Rika shuddered, eyes still closed, and both her hands began to massage her breasts. "It was like...it was like kissing your pussy, Alys, except that now it could kiss back. Her coated tongue wrapped around mine, and all I could taste was you, you when I've done a good job and you're writhing under me..."  
  
Alys groaned in amazement at the scene in her head, at the idea of her beloved Rika, tongue-wrestling sweet, sexy Demi, right in public, of her girlfriend's tongue wrapped around that smooth, artificial organ made moist by Alys's own cum...barely realizing what she was doing, Alys began to divest herself of her clothing, just as Rika had done.  
  
"I barely remember the next few minutes. It was just a blur of kissing and groping....we made our way up to my room," Rika continued. "I don't think we stopped making out even once along the way. When we finally stepped away for a moment, we were right in front of my bed. Our clothes were off as fast as we could get them...I don't need to tell you how beautiful Demi is, do I?"  
  
She definitely didn't. Alys could recall every detail of the android's unnaturally flawless 'skin', her modest, feminine proportions, so pale in the dim light of the evening that she almost seemed to glow...Alys gave a little moan as her hands rose up to hold her breasts and softly knead them. To think of Demi and Rika, standing together, two impossibly flawless, soft beauties before one another...  
  
Rika continued to describe her encounter, telling of how she had almost outright attacked Demi in savage desire, reaching around the robot with her arms and even a leg to hold her, capture her, claim her in passion. How Demi had smiled gently at her savage lust, and then pushed Rika effortlessly away with her android strength, and down onto the bed.  
  
"She was on me before I'd finished the first bounce against the mattress," Rika purred, and she began to gently flick and tweak her dusky nipples with her dainty fingers. "Demi looks so sweet and little, but she was suddenly strong, and so demanding! Her body was pressed down on me, and I felt my nipples dragging across her smooth, soft synthetic tits, Alys...mmm, so nice..." Rika's eyes were faraway when she opened them to look at Alys, and her fingers began to play more aggressively with her nips. Unconsciously, Alys matched this new pace with her own, and let out a soft moan as she listened with rapt attention, and saw it, felt it in her mind.  
  
"She brought her lips down to my nipple, and gave it a kiss," Rika told Alys, letting out a little yelp of delight as she gave the nipple in question a little pinch in remembrance. "Then she just started kissing all over my breasts, and licking them, and...mmm, and sucking at them!" Rika arched her back as she began aggressively pulling at her nipples, an aroused whine in her voice. "It was so hot, Alys! Her tongue glistened with the juices you'd left in her mouth...she would smear your cum on my breasts, only to lick it up again! O-oh!"  
  
Rika keened as her body shook in pleasure, as much from the memory as from her current actions. She licked her lips lustily, and the way that she swirled her tongue along her wet lips, making them glisten as she recounted Demi's cum-smearing licks, was so erotic that Alys could hardly stand it. She unconsciously began to play more aggressively with her left breast, and her right hand lowered to begin slowly rubbing against her still clothed womanhood.  
  
"Oh, Alys, I was so turned on! I don't know if I've ever needed release more than at that moment! That beautiful, sweet android woman holding me down, pressing her perfect body that reeked with your sexy scent against me as she lavished me with her cum-coated tongue...I was just...just quivering beneath her!" Rika squealed with aroused delight, as her hand followed Alys's cue and began to make its own southward descent. "But it didn't matter to her, even when I begged her to just hurry, to please, please let me cum. She held me tight and kept the most agonizing, wonderful slow pace! It felt like hours before she finally gave my tit one last kiss, and began to drag her glistening tongue down. Even then, it was so slow, so sensual and frustrating!"  
  
Alys let out a heated groan as she hastily pulled her pants down, listening to Rika tell her of the slow, languid strokes Demi made against her abdomen, taking the time to outline the pink-haired girl's muscles in a sweet trail of pleasure. As she spoke, Rika gently dragged her finger over her belly, showing the robotic tongue's path in a way that made Alys shiver and moan to watch and imagine. With her pants out of the way, Alys's hand now pressed against the sodden fabric of her panties. She let out a groan of pleasured relief as she rubbed and pushed her underwear against her hot, seeping cunt. By the desert winds, she was so incredibly sensitive right now! Alys had never been any stranger to the joy of masturbation, but it had never been like this before, so exciting, so pleasurable and satisfying...watching her girlfriend touch herself, listening to her talk about fucking another woman...this was no substitute for sex; right now, this was as good as the real thing!  
  
"Finally, finally, she got down to where I needed her," Rika continued, her voice high and breathy as she tapped a finger gently against her quim's outer lips. Alys could hear the muted squelch of its entrance within her, and she whined as a new wave of fiery desire hit her. "By that time, she'd left pretty much all the cum you gave her in patterns on my belly...but I was so wet, just tracing her tongue around my lips was enough to get it good and moist again! Mmm, finally feeling that strange, textured tongue against me, even just the outside...I almost came from it..."  
  
Alys panted and watched Rika circle her lips as Demi's tongue had. Barely realizing what she was doing, she removed all but one of her fingers from her crotch, and began to mimic Rika's motions, drawing her digit along the moist fabric clinging to her pussy lips. It was so good, so good but not nearly enough...!  
  
"She teased me, kept stroking her tongue along my lips, over and over, keeping me so, so close...I remember I was writhing, squirming, trying to break free of her hold with every ounce of strength I had, trying to buck my h-hips into her tongue...ohhhh!" Rika's face was contorted with current and remembered pleasures, gasping as she increased the tempo of her strokes. Alys followed suit. "She wanted me as wet as she could make me...I think maybe she r-really liked having your juices in her mouth, and wanted to do the same with mine...  
  
"Then, then when I couldn't stand it any longer...she...she..." Rika took a deep breath, and suddenly her finger flew to her engorged clit and began to rub against it. Her body jerked as climax took her, she threw her head back, and she howled, "She l-licked...licked my clit! Oh, Alys, Alys, Oh, Demi! I came! I came so hard, came on her face, I'm cumming now, oooaaaaaahhhh!"  
  
The sight before her, the image of that sexy robotic tongue lashing against Rika's clit, it was too much. Alys let a deep, loud moan mingle with Rika's orgasmic howl as she came, too. Fire swept through her veins, and she jerked with bliss. Her fingers flew to her clit, pressed the fabric of her panties against it savagely, and her orgasm multiplied in power, turning her moan into a broken series of shrieks.  
  
"And, and - and while I was cumming...oh, Alys! Ah! Ah! Demi, her tongue, it started, moving, so fast...she vibrated her tongue so fast, I came again, and again...Oh, ALYS!" Rika screamed, shuddering as she began tapping her fingers forcefully against her clit, bringing herself to a second orgasm right at the height of her first, just as she was describing. "I could smell it while it happened! Your scent and mine, mixing! Oh, I loved it, I love it, I love you!"  
  
Alys let out a helpless, carnal cry as she came again as well, synced with Rika at this moment of pleasure as much as she ever had been in combat. Her mind was awash with pleasure and images, seeing Rika squirm and cum before her, imagining Demi licking her all the while, that tongue buzzing as it had with Alys that night...!

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
Alys lay panting, gently tracing her fingers over her underwear and delighting in the way that, as soaked as they were, the slightest press of her fingers caused a visible pooling of cum through them. She lay in a happy haze, and watched Rika as she gently sucked her fingers clean of her climax. An afterglow from masturbating...it was incredible...  
  
Her fingers clean, Rika sat up, and crawled over to Alys. They kissed, and Alys was gifted with the lovely flavor of her lover's pleasure. "That was really wonderful," Rika purred, and drew her arms around Alys. "I loved watching you..."  
  
"That was pretty spectacular," Alys agreed, grinning. "Never thought you could make me cum so hard without even touching me."  
  
"And it wouldn't have happened if we hadn't...'cheated,' would it?" Rika pressed. "Sex with other women can't be so bad, can it? You liked hearing about me with Demi...I liked smelling you on her..."  
  
Alys let out a chuckle. "Well, you make a pretty compelling argument...but I don't know if you could even count it as cheating. The way you described it, you made a lot of it about me, anyway...it's not like it was just fucking for the love of fucking, babe. And we were having problems, so..." She rose to her feet, intending to get dressed again.  
  
Rika shrugged, and also stood. "I guess...but...will it make you upset with me, if I tell you that I've done that, too?"  
  
"What? What do you mean?" Alys asked, frowning.  
  
"Well...I've had sex that had nothing to do with my feelings for you, and it wasn't when you were pushing me away, either," Rika replied in a matter-of-fact manner.  
  
"What!? When? With who?" Alys asked, taken aback.  
  
"Well, remember when we took that Hunter job and killed the sandworm at the ranch?" Rika asked. Alys nodded, her frown deepening. That had been a rather harsh battle. "Well, when we got back to down, you were so tired that you had me go to the Hunter's Guild to make the report, while you went home to get some sleep. After all the activity, plus marching through the desert next to you all day, I was feeling very excited, but I didn't want to keep you from getting your rest. Everyone else in the group seemed very tired, too, so I went to the Guild on my own so that they could rest, too.

"When I got there, I filled out the report on our job, and the clerk said that she would have the money brought to you the next morning," Rika continued. Alys nodded, remembering the delivery. "Well...she really is very pretty, and I needed some relief...so I asked her if she would like to have sex with me." Rika giggled. "She was surprised!"  
  
Alys could easily imagine. Rika was still in the process of learning a lot of the smaller social customs that Seed had not taught her, and apparently, not propositioning professional acquaintances while they were at their job was one of the social details that Rika had not grasped at that point. "But she said yes?"  
  
"Well, not immediately...I had to seduce her a bit," Rika told her with another giggle. "Mmm, she's just so pretty, with that luscious, dark hair, and that pretty smile...I know you think it's 'cheating,' but you can't tell me you don't think the girl at the Hunter's Guild is attractive, can you?"  
  
"...No, I can't," Alys conceded. In all honesty, she had wanted to fuck that cutie's brains out since Day 1 on the job. She had never allowed herself to seriously consider the idea, however. Above all else, Alys was a Hunter, and even from the start she had wanted to earn the right to be called the best Hunter alive. If she had ever slept with someone in the Guild hierarchy, even just the clerk, she would never be able to say with complete certainty that her rank and accolades were the result of her own skill, and not simply favors. But forbidding herself from the handsome, efficient woman at the front desk had not kept Alys from imagining on more than one evening what that sleek, dark hair smelled like, what womanly figure was hidden within that trim work attire, and what would replace that pretty, professional smile in the throes of orgasm. Was she a squealer? Would she bite her lip tightly and whimper? Open her mouth wide in a silent scream?  
  
Rika apparently knew the answer to these questions...Alys's sense of monogamous right and wrong, already weakened by both logic and lust thanks to Rika, shrunk before her carnal curiosity.  "So how did you seduce her?" she found herself asking.  
  
"Well," Rika answered, smiling both innocently and slyly at Alys's interest, "once the actual transaction was done, I casually asked her, "Is that all you get to do, all day?"  
  
""What do you mean?" she asked back, looking surprised. I don't think anyone really sticks around long enough to actually talk to her like a human being.  
  
""It's just that Alys only brings us in to accept requests, and report when they've been completed. I never see you getting to do anything else. It must be a pretty boring job," I explained, as I put my hands down on her desk and leaned on it a little. She replied that there was actually a lot of things she had to do...prioritizing and posting the jobs, checking and sending correspondence, updating Hunter files and rankings, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't really remember. She's actually REALLY into her job, Alys...it's kind of cute, actually."  
  
Alys gave a grunt of agreement. In her mind, she was playing out a scene, perhaps a little exaggerated, of the Guildswoman lighting up and gushing about the nuances of her work, and it was, indeed, quite cute.  
  
"By the time she was done, I was sitting on her desk, watching her from the side. They should put some chairs in there! But it worked out better for this that they didn't. I said to her, "So, you do have a lot to do, at least, but it sounds like you don't ever get a chance to get away from that desk. That must get a little boring, no matter how much paperwork you're doing."  
  
"She gave a little laugh, and leaned back in her chair. "Well, you're right about that...I do love my job, and I know I'm doing something important, but I wouldn't say no to a little excitement every now and then."  
  
"At least you get to see lots of attractive Hunters coming in and out...that must be fun,"" Rika said, her voice becoming just a little huskier as she imitated her words to the clerk. "But she shook her head, laughed, and replied, "Working with Chaz has given you the wrong idea about Hunters. Good looking men in this profession are a rarity. A Hunter's work is usually dealing with monsters, so most of the men are big brutes who don't really try to keep up their appearance. There's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't make for much eye candy."  
  
"I leaned a little further back, letting my chest push out a little more, and my had rested a little closer to hers. "That's too bad...but what about the women? I bet there are some real lookers working for the Guild, right? In fact, I know there are some!"" Rika giggled coquettishly, and Alys gulped. She'd never seen or heard the girl trying to put the moves on anyone, before. It was very appealing.  
  
"She blushed, and looked down at her desk. "Oh, er, I wouldn't really...I don't notice that sort of thing. I'm not...that way."" Rika recalled, smiling a little in amusement at the words.  
  
""Reeeeeaally?" I asked her, slowly leaning back a little more. I uncrossed my legs, and just let my body rest on her desk, right before her. I licked my lips. "So, when a strong, confident, beautiful woman like Alys Brangwin walks into your office...hair tousled, breathing heavily, glowing with satisfaction from a job well done, the smell of sand and sun clinging to her...stands right in front of your desk, tall, imposing, like the legend she is...that doesn't affect you even one little, uncomfortable bit?"  
  
Alys could imagine the nervous gulp as the woman's eyes darted uncomfortably to and away from Rika's display even before Rika described it. She heard the stutter even before Rika told her the woman's answer of, "N-no...I don't, it...it d-doesn't..."  
  
""Then again," I said as I stopped leaning on her desk altogether, and instead lay down on my back on it, "maybe it's not the confident, powerful women you're interested in...so much as the pretty, cute girls they travel with..." Her eyes were wide, now, and she was breathing heavier. I could smell her pheromones, and the slight hint of her moisture below us. I let my hands trail down the length of my body, and looked up into her eyes, taking in the tiny, uncomfortable shifting she was doing.  
  
""Girls that like pretty, passionate, hardworking professionals," I whispered to her. I let one hand rest on my thigh, and brought the other one up to just barely touch her cheek. "Girls...that have ideas on how to make a boring day at work much, much more interesting..."  
  
"She sat completely still, and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and said, her voice quivering a little, "I haven't...""  
  
Alys found her breath hitching in suspense. Was this to be a rejection, then? Even though in the back of her mind, she knew that Rika had already told her how it would end, she still found herself caught in the moment.  
  
""...ever done this before," she whispered. Her eyes opened, and I could see in them that she had given in...she was nervous, but very, very excited!  
  
"I smiled at her, and stood back up. She reached across the desk," Rika told Alys, reaching her own arms forward and resting her hands on Alys's shoulders. "And then..."  
  
Alys felt herself pulled forward in a sudden rush, and suddenly Rika's lips captured her own. She let out a surprised grunt, but her instinct was a step ahead of her, already opening her mouth to invite her girlfriend's tongue into her mouth. Rika began kissing her vigorously, and Alys returned the favor, delighting as she always did in their tongues' private dance. And yet, this kiss was unlike any that Rika had ever given her before. It was not that Rika could not be aggressive, even possessive in her kisses, but this was a forward, excited kind of kiss she had never given Alys before. Instead of concentrating on meeting Alys's tongue, Rika's swept through her mouth in an excited, almost nervous exploration, and she kept changing her position, kissing Alys from a different angle every few seconds as though she couldn't decide which was best. Rika's hands were on Alys's cheeks, then the side of her head, then the back, roaming with a lusty desperation as though every inch of her needed to be verified.  
  
(This is how the Guild woman kissed her!) Alys realized. More than just an explanation, Rika was going to satisfy Alys's curiosity about this longtime crush with a practical demonstration...and she seemed to be gifted at imitation. Alys closed her eyes, and let her mind continue what Rika had started, substituting the woman actually kissing her with the woman she was pretending to be. Alys felt a twinge of desire. Despite her satisfying climaxes just minutes before, Rika and her imagination were turning her on anew!  
  
Rika suddenly drew away, breathing heavily with a desirous grin on her face. Had the Guild worker looked this way, or was this purely Rika? Alys's mind was already rearranging that polite, smiling face to wear the expression before her.  
  
""Come over on this side of the desk, hot stuff," she told me," Rika related, deepening her voice to imitate the woman's tone at that moment. ""My shift doesn't end for another three hours...but I plan to get off right now!""  
  
Rika pulled Alys closer with a sudden jerk as she continued, "I practically leaped over the counter! She laughed at that, but you know how I get when I feel excited...anyway, I went in for another kiss, but she moved back, and told me that since she was still on the clock, we would have to have our fun without anyone knowing." Rika put her arms on Alys's shoulders, and began to gently push her downwards. Alys acquiesced to Rika's gentle push, and lowered herself to kneel before her girlfriend. "She had me get under her desk, on my hands and knees, just like you are now...she reached under her skirt, took off her panties, then sat down in front of me, and spread her legs."  
  
"What was she like?" Alys whispered, caught up in the fantasy Rika was weaving in her mind, as her girlfriend began to push her hips closer to Alys's face.  
  
"Wet," Rika whispered back, with a lusty, happy sigh as she remembered. "Already so wet, just from our kiss. She had wonderful, black curls that tickled my nose as I slid my tongue into her...she tasted like the warmth of a desert day...her clit was so cute, so small it barely peeked out even as I was eating her...mmmmhhhh..."  
  
Alys let out her own murmur of satisfaction. Even as she pushed her tongue into Rika's slit and tasted that hint of strawberry that her pussy possessed, Alys's imagination transformed it into a huskier, heavier taste. With her eyes closed, Alys saw the black curls of the Guild woman's pubic hair before her, saw herself as Rika, kneeling under a desk as she tongue-fucked the sexy clerk, hidden, yet with the thrill of being discovered. She was completely in the moment; she was Rika, not Alys, and the woman standing before her was the clerk, sitting and hot for Rika's touch.  
  
"Sooo good," the clerk moaned above her with Rika's voice, as Rika ate her out with Alys's tongue. The woman laid an encouraging hand on Rika's head and drew her further in, twisting her fingers into Rika's strangely brown tresses. "Lick that pussy! Lick it dry! Yesss!"  
  
Alys was more than happy to have the imaginary Rika comply, and rammed her tongue in faster, thrashed it within the woman's hidden depths harder, and the woman above her threw her head back wildly, all attempt to pretend to any potential clients entering the Guild completely abandoned.  
  
"My clit, Rika! I'm so close, I need--!"  
  
Lips, imagined to be Rika's, quickly wrapped around the clit before them, imagined to be the small pleasure button of the Guild woman. There was a shriek of release, muscles clenched within and without, and the juices of climax flowed out into a waiting mouth.  
  
Coming back to herself, Alys sat back, shivering in delight as she watched a thread of cum connecting her mouth to Rika's cunt gently break. But it seemed that Rika's experience with the Guild clerk had not been only a single desk quickie, for the woman above Alys, once she had recovered from her climax, looked down and whispered, "Okay, honey, your turn. Stay under the desk, and turn around, then scoot that cute little ass up for me, okay?"  
  
Falling immediately back into her role as Rika, Alys turned on her hands and knees away from Rika, then lowered her front half down on her elbows and jutted her backside upward at the woman. She felt hands grasp appreciatively at her ass, and a new fire burned in her core. It was a fire which soon was satisfied, though not lessened, as two fingers slipped past the saturated fabric clinging to her pussy, and rubbed against her clit. Her back arched like a cat in delight, and she let out a small squeal of pleasure.  
  
"Someone's coming in," came a low warning from above her. Alys broke out of the fantasy for a moment, looking down the hallway, but saw neither Wren nor Rune, and realized that Rika was simply relating what had been said to her at that time. Alys groaned in still greater desire as the imagined thrill of discovery hit her. "Stay quiet, and I'll keep touching you."  
  
Fingers gently stroked against her nub as a question about the Gild's functions was answered, so professionally that there was no way the new client could have possibly suspected that the woman sitting before him was fucking a girl's brains out. Those fingers began to tap against her clit as the process of submitting requests was explained. As forms were given out with one hand, the other began to lightly pinch it. She shook and ground her teeth together, determined to hold off her orgasm even as its waves of pleasure crashed higher and higher against her willpower. She had to stay quiet, couldn't cum until the customer left, couldn't...couldn't...  
  
"He's gone," came the all-clear, and an extra-hard pinch. She screamed and came, howling as she knew Rika must have, and suddenly the woman's mouth was on her, tapping a tongue to her clit and bringing her into another orgasm immediately.

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
Eventually, Alys's climax ended, and she found herself sitting against the wall of the Zelan hallway again, held in Rika's loving arms. She turned to her lover, and they gave each other a gentle kiss.  
  
"So...do you still not like the idea of sex with other girls?" Rika asked when they broke the kiss, a twinkle in her eye.  
  
Alys let out a little laugh, and shook her head. "I think it'll take me a little while to really get used to the idea, but...I can't pretend that it hasn't had some really, really enjoyable consequences. Imagining you with the other girls is...really, really hot. I guess it's alright...but I want you to always give me a chance to join in, or watch, before you go after someone else, okay?"  
  
"Sure! Everything is always better with you," Rika agreed, sending a warm feeling of happiness through Alys.  
  
"Then we're fine. As long as you don't start loving someone else instead of me," Alys decided.  
  
Rika nodded. "Of course! I could never love anyone instead of you! That wouldn't even make sense. If I fall in love with another person, I'll still love you, too, just as much."  
  
Alys frowned. Being okay with having sex with other people was one thing, but now Rika was talking about something else. She opened her mouth to tell Rika that polyamory was also not a socially acceptable thing, and that Alys definitely was not comfortable with the idea of having to share Rika's love...but she sighed, and decided against it. Sitting here, holding one another in the afterglow, having already had her perspective on relationships changed radically, Alys really just didn't feel like getting into another discussion like that. There would be time later for it. She'd rather just enjoy the company of the woman she loved for a little while.  
  
Although she supposed there was something to talk about which might be a bit more fun...  
  
"So...have there been any others you've slept with?" Alys asked. Rika nodded, and Alys raised an eyebrow, feeling a slight stir of excitement within her at the thought of another story like the last two. "Who was it? When? Was it fun?"  
  
"Oh, it was Gryz," Rika answered, ignoring the immediate shock that came to Alys's face. "It was a few days before we set out for Zio's castle the first time."  
  
"Gryz!?" Alys exclaimed in disbelief. "What...why!?"  
  
Rika shrugged. "He's a very, very handsome man, going by the standards of beauty for his species. He's almost as handsome by Motavian standards as you are gorgeous by human standards." She finally seemed to notice Alys's surprise. "Oh, did you not know that? Well, when I think about it, I guess human beauty standards are so far apart from Motavian ones that most humans wouldn't know the difference between an attractive and unattractive Motavian."  
  
"It's not that," Alys replied, still nearly flabbergasted. "At least, not entirely. It's just...I guess I just had no idea you were into Motavians, too. Or men, for that matter."  
  
"I'm 'into' everyone, Alys," Rika replied seriously. "I'm a Numan, designed to be the first of an entirely new form of life. Seed's goal for me is to fill the world with a whole new species of people like me. So...human, Motavian, even Dezolian, Seed made it so I can recognize beauty in and feel attracted to anyone, to further that goal."  
  
"Huh," was all Alys could say to that. She had known that Seed's intention had been to introduce Numans to the world, with Rika as their progenitor, but had never really considered the implications of that fact. Another thing about her relationship with Rika to think about, it seemed.  
  
Not really expecting to enjoy the answer but filled with a natural curiosity, Alys could not help but ask, "Well...what was it like, with Gryz?"  
  
Rika made a face. "Clumsy and weird. I've decided I'm going to stick with girls for now."  
  
Alys laughed. At least she and her girlfriend were on the same page about one thing.

  
** \----4----4----4----4---- **

  
"Oh, "it's not like that," huh?" were the sarcastic words that awoke Alys. She looked up, and saw Rune's mildly annoyed expression peering down at her from behind disapprovingly folded arms.  
  
Alys yawned, and stretched. Beside her, Rika murmured something in her sleep from the floor of the space station's hallway. "Eh, what can I say? We got a little more carried away than I expected," she told her long-time ally, and began gathering up her clothing. "Look, I'm dating the hottest woman on the planet. That's not just subjective, either; I'm finding out that she was _designed_ to be. Cut me some slack if I get carried away with her. Anyway, what's up? Are you here because Wren's finished with his preparations?"  
  
Rune nodded. "He's ready to go when you are. Wake Rika up and come join us when you're both ready. I'll go tell Wren you'll be with us in a few minutes, and give the two of you some privacy. I know you don't care, but Rika's not quite so brazen."  
  
"I think you might be surprised, actually," Alys chuckled under her breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to say that after this point, delays between updates will be very, very long. Most of this work was written over years, so don't expect to see anything more for at least a few months. But I do promise that I WILL continue this!


	8. Chapter 8

Motavia was a harsh, unforgiving world of constant hardship and danger, where the necessities of life were a constant struggle for humanity to obtain. Hard, hot life in an endless desert filled with huge, deadly monsters, the actual indigenous Motavians who were not always thrilled at sharing the world's few resources with humans, and the occasional ancient, dangerously malfunctioning security robot that emerged from one techno-ruin or another...Motavia might have been her home, but Alys would never miss it, of that she was certain.

Until she came to Dezolis.

"DOES your planet understand that it can have more than one thing on its surface, Raja?" Alys grumbled, shooting an irate look at the elderly priest walking a few feet away, as though he was personally responsible for the planet's climate. "Not EVERYTHING about a world has to be ice. Even Motavia gets crazy every now and then with a mountain range, or even a tree!"

Raja grinned in a way that Alys had very, very quickly grown to hate. "She's cold, but keeps herself warm with complaints and clever sarcasm," he remarked aloud. "It must be...a frostbiting wit?"

If her arms weren't huddled against her body, she might have strangled him.

"But Alys, there are trees and mountains all over! Dezolis is filled with them! Why, we've passed by and through many already!" Rika corrected her, drawing Alys's glare her way. Oh, Alys loved Rika with all her heart, she did, but that did not mean she forgave the Numan for being genetically bred to be able to comfortably traverse this frozen nightmare with no more than her regular alluring, skimpy battle armor on.

"No, darling, there's ICE. Ice and only ice. The trees have ice on them. The mountains are covered in ice. There is nothing on this world that is not completely frozen over besides us, and frankly, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be an exception!" she argued bitterly. She couldn't believe there'd ever been a time in which she'd cursed the hot Motavian sun...

"These extreme and frequent blizzards are anomalous weather patterns for the planet," Wren stated. "Remember, we are here to resolve this very problem."

Alys turned her glare over to him. "And if it weren't for whatever's making the weather go crazy, this would be a beautiful warm garden planet without a speck of snow anywhere?"

"No. In its natural state, Dezolis is quite cold to descendants of Parm, and much of its surface rarely thaws, if-"

"Then shut up."

For good measure, Alys swung her withering glare at the last member of her party, Rune, since everyone else had felt it so far. He frowned indignantly, but had the good sense not to say anything. It was, after all, his fault entirely that they were forced to traverse Dezolis on foot, as Alys had informed him many times since their crash landing. He was the one who had let his physics-mangling magics get out of hand during their battle with the hostile stowaway, and damaged the ship from the inside.

Thankfully, Alys wasn't forced to endure the out of control elements, and Raja's singular sense of humor, for too much longer. Having already been journeying for days from their last stop, it was only another hour or so of trudging through the snowdrifts before a settlement, the town of Tyler according to Raja, came into view. Alys was a long, long way from being the crying type, but the realization that they were now only a few minutes away from a warm room and soft bed could have brought a tear to her eye...if she wasn't fairly sure it would have frozen there permanently.

Upon entering the town, Alys was mildly surprised that the first resident that the group came across was a Parmanian, rather than one of the Dezolis's green natives. It wasn't that surprising, in retrospect, since she had known that Dezolis was partly populated by her own people in the same way that Motavia was, but still, it was the first non-green person she had seen on this planet so far.

More importantly, though, and more importantly by a long shot for that matter, was the fact that the first structure in town was an inn.

"Oh, thank the stars," she breathed in relief, the cold and exhaustion she'd been carrying all this way suddenly seeming to collapse its full weight onto her shoulders as she saw that relief was waiting before her. "Okay, first order of business: we're getting a room for the night. Nights. Week, maybe. Whatever amount of time it takes for me to forget how much I have grown to hate ice."

Raja snorted, and muttered something about how back in his day walking fifteen miles in a blizzard was normal, but followed Alys's lead as she brought her party into the small structure.

As they opened the door, the air within rushed out to greet them, warm and inviting, and Alys decided, upon crossing the threshold and feeling the cozy warmth of a small room and its fireplace wrap around her, that coming into a warm home after days of trekking through blizzards was the second greatest feeling a person could experience, second only to orgasm itself. She sighed happily - whimpered, really - as she let the warmth creep into her, suddenly so tired and relaxed that she was almost surprised she didn't lie down and sleep right then and there in the doorway. The plush carpet was inviting enough for it.

Rika was apparently watching Alys as she let the inn's warmth thaw her, and let out a giggle. Sidling up to her girlfriend, the Numan whispered, "I love how strong and capable you are...but you're incredibly cute when you're sleepy and vulnerable, too, you know."

The comment brought a blush to Alys's cheeks, which annoyed her to no end. What was she, some schoolgirl with a crush?

To try to regain some of her dignity, Alys straightened herself, and strode forward purposefully to the clerk's desk. "Hi. We need a room for the night," she announced the obvious.

It was only now that Alys noticed that the girl manning the desk was staring at Alys and her group with her jaw slightly agape, and had been since she came in. Once Alys had finished speaking, the innkeeper managed to collect her wits enough to at least close her mouth, although the girl's eyes still darted in amazement from one party member to the next. "Uh...I, er, y-yes, of course, Miss! Our...our room is available for you and your friends, of course..."

The girl's shock seemed odd, but Alys was far too exhausted to question it just now. The woman was probably just amazed that anyone had actually made it here alive through this blizzard.

The fee for the night was paid, and the party made their way to the inn's one and only room. It was small, sparsely furnished, totally undecorated beyond a large, red and yellow rug whose colors and pattern were both quite garish, and just had two large beds shoved together in its center. It might have been the most beautiful thing Alys had ever seen. She collapsed onto the left bed, Rika sliding gracefully under the covers with her, as Wren stood in the corner and entered his rest state. Alys was asleep before Rune was even finished complaining that he had to share the right bed with Raja.

 

** \----4----4----4----4---- **

 

Alys's eyes fluttered open, and she yawned as the world shimmered into focus. Lying on a soft bed, a thick blanket over her, she felt warm and lazy, and she liked it. It was even better as Rika leaned over to give her a soft kiss.

"Good morning, Alys," Rika greeted her. "Or afternoon, I think."

Under other circumstances, Alys might have been annoyed at having slept for so long...but after days of trekking through a frozen wasteland and fighting possibly every single hostile monster in this hemisphere, she was okay with a few extra hours of sleep. Really, she wouldn't mind just spending the whole day here, warm and comfortable and snuggled up with Rika. But, she supposed, she and Rika weren't the only ones to consider in the matter, and although a good night's sleep had largely cured Alys of her desire to throttle Raja within an inch of his life, spending the day in a closed space with the "wise"-cracking Dezolis native probably wouldn't be all that fun.

But, as Alys looked around the room, she saw that her other companions were just as absent here as basic furnishings and aesthetics.

"Where are the others?" she asked her girlfriend.

"They woke up a few hours ago," came the answer, as Rika settled in next to Alys and laid her head on the Hunter's shoulder. "Wren and Rune thought it would be good to go out and observe the weather, and learn more about this town from the people living here. And Raja said he wanted to get a few drinks. We all decided it would be nice to let you sleep in a bit." She smiled in amusement. "Rune said it might make you a little less grumpy. Although that's not the word he used."

Before Alys could respond to this and point out the ludicrously high irony of Rune complaining about someone else's hostile attitude, there was a timid knock on the door.

A woman's voice, which Alys remembered after a moment as belonging to the innkeeper, came from the other side. "Pardon me, but I heard voices...are you both awake? I've made some lunch...would you like it?" There was a momentary pause, and then the voice added, sounding quite flustered, "It's, um, a service we provide for all our guests!"

Although she hadn't noticed it upon waking, now that the topic of food had been brought up, Alys realized that she was famished. "Yes, that would be great. Please, come in," she called, as she swung her legs, a little reluctantly, out from under the covers and over the side of the bed. Rika likewise sat up, and began to climb over and off the bed.

The door opened, and the innkeeper came in, bearing a tray filled with various foods, some of which Alys recognized, and some of which were totally foreign to her. The woman - girl, really, she couldn't be a year over eighteen - took a look at Alys and Rika, looked away with a profuse blush, and walked nervously over to them.

(She must be very modest), Alys guessed. Rika was fully clothed (if one was generous enough to consider Rika's swimsuit-like armor 'fully clothed'), but Alys had only just gotten up, so she was still in her underclothes. She hadn't really thought anything of it, but this girl must be very sensitive about seeing even a normal amount of skin...then again, this wasn't Motavia, where light and unobtrusive codes of dress were a necessity thanks to the desert heat. Here, Parmanians wore clothing as a matter of necessity, for their heat, rather than primarily for modesty and fashion. So Alys guessed that the girl would be far less used to seeing someone like she was seeing Alys now.

It was kind of cute, really. The innkeeper was already a rather adorable woman, with her simple, short blue hair framing a round, expressive face...she was so short, too, at least a full foot below Alys at full height. Admittedly, Alys knew she herself was a tall woman, but that didn't mean the innkeeper wasn't still petite. She barely came up higher than Rika's chin!

She also had a rather cute build to go with it. The innkeeper looked like she was a rather rounded and curvy woman under her heavy clothing, probably that perfect, attractive medium between plumply womanly, and chubby. One didn't see many women on Motavia with such a build; it required a luxurious and relaxed life that few could afford on such a harsh planet. But Alys supposed that there must be many more heavier Parmans here on Dezolis...it wasn't exactly a less demanding planet than Motavia, but its brand of harsh weather was the kind that would require people to stay indoors and inactive.

Strange...as Alys watched the innkeeper set the tray down and divide its contents into two portions, one for each guest, the Hunter realized that her first guess was wrong.

The girl kept sneaking glances at both Alys and Rika, and blushing heavily and looking away each time, but these glances weren't at either woman's body or exposed skin. She was just looking at their faces. Well, this was strange. What was it about Rika and herself that was so interesting or shocking to this little woman, if not their physical appearance? Why was she so shy?

"S-So," the innkeeper suddenly squeaked out, apparently having gathered some courage, though she didn't raise her head from the tea she was pouring to look the women she was addressing in the eyes, "you're not from here in Tyler!" She flushed deeper. "I mean, I mean of course you aren't. I haven't seen you here before, and, and everyone in town knows each other, so...I mean...wh-what town do y...it must have been a long journ...it's not my business, of..."

Alys just watched as this girl verbally stumbled over herself, turning redder and redder with every word. Good heavens, she was adorable.

"I...I forgot the sugar!" the innkeeper gasped out finally, giving up her flailing attempts to make conversation, and ran out of the room like she was being pursued by Crawler monsters. Although, Alys mused, she probably didn't even know what those were...Dezo Owls, then.

Rika nudged Alys. "She's pretty cute, isn't she?" Rika asked, with a knowing smile, eyes shining.

Alys coughed, and her own cheeks reddened a little. She felt like she had been caught looking at another woman, felt like she should feel bad, but she knew that wasn't what Rika meant...Rika was just genuinely observing that the girl was appealing. "Y-Yeah, she kind of is," Alys admitted. She was going to have to try to get used to this idea, that it was okay to feel attracted to other women while she was with Rika...that being honest about it was good, something that she and Rika could connect over. Alys certainly didn't have any objection to this; if anything, the idea seemed like a remarkably freeing one. But it was still different from what she had ever known about relationships before, so it would take some getting used to.

"She sure seems taken by us, too!" Rika continued, and Alys nodded again.

"Yeah...I was wondering about that, but with those questions she was trying to ask, I think I get it," Alys answered. "This tiny village is so isolated that no one here must practically ever see Parman travelers come by. Meeting new people must be very exciting for her."

"Very, very...exciting," Rika whispered into Alys's ear, and Alys shivered. Rika patted the bed they sat on. "You know...with us being all alone here, I thought we could have some fun until the others get back, work that last grumpiness out of you...but this bed is just so big! So much wasted space...might be a little less intimidating if we had someone else with us..."

Alys inhaled sharply. "...Her?" she asked in a whisper, mind whirling. She'd known, since she and Rika had talked about this on Wren's orbital station, that Rika saw sex in relationships differently from her. She'd been convinced, at that time, that maybe Rika was right, and it would be okay to experiment with her...enjoy other women together, as she'd enjoyed hearing Rika tell her of such experiences. But somehow, the idea hadn't become real until this very second.

Rika chuckled, and gave Alys's shoulder a little nip. "Why not? We both like her. Rune's told me all about what a 'ladykiller' you are...well, I want to see it firsthand. Kill that lady!"

"It is really not sexy when you phrase it like that," Alys laughed. Well...indeed, why not? Rika bringing up her old habits somehow restored a bit of her old, flirtatious confidence. Her girlfriend wanted this, and Alys hadn't had a lot of chances to bed a pretty, thicker woman on Motavia. What woman in her right mind would turn this opportunity down? Not top Hunter Alys Brangwin, that was for damn sure!

The door opened again, and the girl came back in, sugar in hand, walking to where Alys and Rika sat with the halting faux-assertive gait of a woman who thinks she's found her confidence, but is clearly still just as timid a little thing as she was before giving herself a private pep talk. What a precious little thing...Alys could just eat her up. In fact, she was going to.

"Oh, there's the sugar...thank you," Alys greeted the girl with a smile. "I do love sweet things. Don't you love sweet things, Rika?"

Rika nodded, giving a smile of her own. "Oh, yes, I just love sweets!"

The innkeeper blushed, pleased to have been useful, and replied, "Oh, you're welcome, just being a good host..."

Alys nodded, and encouragingly enthused, "You certainly are! It's such a nice change to find an innkeeper who really goes out of her way to make sure her guests are...enjoying themselves. So many other inns we've gone to are so brusque...you just pay at the desk, it's lights out, then the next morning you're on your way. None of that personal touch that I like so much."

At this, the blue-haired woman brightened with interest. "Well, we don't get many guests here, so, so we pride ourselves on our service! But you've...traveled to a lot of places...?"

Alys smiled inwardly. Yup, she and Rika had this one pegged...small town girl with an imagination thirsty for adventure. Well, this was quite possibly the luckiest day of her life. "Well, only a few places here on Dezolis," she replied, adopting a tone of modesty. "I admit, I'm pretty new to your planet, still. Maybe every innkeeper here is as impressive as you are. But I can say you're better than any innkeeper on Motavia, for sure."

As Alys predicted would happen, the woman's eyes looked like they were about to jump out of her sockets. "Y-You...you're from Motavia!?" Before they could reply, though, her amazement melted into skepticism. "No way. You're...you're making that up. No way you're from another planet...!"

"What's your name, sweetie?" Alys asked, leaning back on her elbows, easy and confident.

"Cheryl," the woman replied, now suspicious after such an outlandish claim.

"Cheryl," Alys began, lolling the name slowly on her tongue, as though savoring it, "you saw what I was wearing yesterday when we checked in, right? Tell me: when was the last time you saw someone who actually lives on this planet come walking into town wearing something as light and unsuited for the cold as that?"

"Well..." Cheryl hesitated, considering it. It wasn't especially convincing evidence, of course, but it was a logical argument all the same, and the girl obviously wanted to believe it. "That doesn't really...prove anything..."

Alys shrugged, and chuckled. "Well, Cheryl," she rolled the name out in a sexy purr, "what would convince you? I didn't think to bring a jar of sand with me."

The girl gazed at her, chewing her lower lip, conflicted. Alys could practically see the gears turning in her head...the idea of having a Parmian from Dezolis's sister planet was exciting, and she wanted desperately for it to be true. The only thing holding her back was a fear that this was a trick; she didn't want to be laughed at. Finally, Cheryl decided, "Tell me about Motavia. All the details! Prove that you know the planet's every detail!"

"Alright," Alys agreed, with a grin. "It's a bit much to talk about everything in a single go, though...how about I tell you about Motavia through a story of one of my hunts? Much more entertaining to listen to than some geography lecture, and I can tell you a lot about life on Motavia as I go along."

Cheryl nodded, and Alys began to relate the story of the last Hunter mission the group had undertaken before leaving Motavia behind. A story of giant sand worms, desert ranches, and battles under the harsh sun...a fine snapshot of Motavian life, indeed. Cheryl was soon utterly entranced by Alys's tale, her questions about the experiences of traveling across deserts quickly ceasing as Alys began to describe the grueling battle they had engaged in. The cute innkeeper's eyes were wide as Alys described each blow and counterattack they had made, spellbound. Stuck in a barely-used inn day in and day out in a tiny town for all her life, it was hardly a surprise that the girl was so enamored by the thought of travel and adventure, and the thrills such things brought...and, by extension, becoming enamored with the accomplished adventurer lying back on the bed in front of her.

The fun part for Alys was that being the top-ranked Hunter in all of Motavia meant that she didn't actually even need to exaggerate her own exploits during her story - just telling it like it was was more than impressive enough. Rika, however, turned out to have a natural talent for being a wingman (or had she been designed to be, perhaps?).

"Oh, Alys, stop downplaying your part!" she insisted, and looked to Cheryl earnestly. "It's true that it was a joint effort to take down this monster, but we'd never have stood a chance if Alys hadn't hit these weak spots on the side of the Sandworm with her Silcers."

She shrugged modestly. "Sure, but you know I only got a chance to do that because you had gone straight at the thing, and kept it off me!" Alys turned to their audience. "Cheryl, Rika here is the bravest woman I've ever met. No matter what, she's got my back, always ready to leap into danger headfirst to keep the rest of us safe."

Cheryl looked to Rika with newfound respect, while Rika scoffed rebutted, "And yet you managed to get along just fine without me your whole life until a couple months ago! Your aim is so good that you don't need me watching your back!"

"Are you really that good?" Cheryl asked, caught up in the moment. "I saw you have a sword, though?"

Alys let out a laugh, as if to say that the idea of questioning her talents was ridiculous. She picked up a small, round metal plate from the tray that Cheryl had brought in. "Three ricochets."

Cheryl was about to ask what she meant by that, when Alys suddenly flicked her wrist, and sent the plate spinning through the air. It hit the wall, ricocheted at an angle away, hit the side wall, and bounced once more off. Soaring to the opposite wall, it bounced a third time with a clang, and this time, its direction took it straight at Alys's head, its momentum not having lessened in the slightest since the original throw. Cheryl squeaked in alarm, but Alys lifted a hand, fast as a striking snake, and caught the plate mere inches from colliding with her jaw.

Cheryl clapped her hands excitedly at the display. "That was incredible! Oh, Miss Brangwin, you are something else! Are all women from Motavia as incredible as you?"

"Afraid not," Alys replied with a grin. She reached down the side of the bed, finding her traveling sack, and removing her Hunter identification document (which would have been fine evidence of her Motavian origins, had she been inclined to use it earlier...but that would have meant no need for the story talking herself and Rika up). She handed it to Cheryl. "You're looking at the Number 1 Hunter in all Motavia."

Cheryl gazed in amazement at the rough, sun-hardened paper she held, and asked, "What's a Hunter?" She wasn't questioning that she should be impressed with this accomplishment, but rather, she wanted clarification of why she was impressed.

"Mercenaries, adventurers, disaster control...we're whatever our clients need," Alys replied. "When the people of Motavia have dangerous work, they hire us to get it done."

"It takes a special kind of woman to put her life on the line every single day to help total strangers the world over," Rika enthused. "And Alys is the best of all of them!"

"You know you're that exact same special kind of woman, right?" Alys pointed out with a smile and a hand on Rika's shoulder. "And I'm starting to think I'm only the best in the game because I got a head start on you!"

Rika blushed cutely and looked down at the floor at the praise, which Alys liked immensely. Turned out that talking herself up to score with the ladies was fun, but talking up her wonderful girlfriend was way better!

“Wow...I’m so jealous of you,” Cheryl sighed, eyes wide and dreamy. “You are so amazing, in so many ways! Beautiful and powerful, out there doing great things and making a difference...all I do is run a little inn for a town no one visits. I could never do the incredible things you do...making your lives into an epic story...” She gave a half smile. "It's been wonderful just hearing about it, though. Thank you for sharing..."

“Well, see, that’s the thing…” Alys let her mouth curve upward, a suggestive incline tilting her brow too. She shot a momentary look to her girlfriend and, at the moment, coconspirator. “It’s not like we’re done writing _this_ story, are we? You get to decide how big a part you play…”

Rika moved, silently and quickly, sidling along the bed so that she was closer to the innkeeper, enough to bump shoulders. Cheryl’s expression had been questioning before then, fetchingly puzzled in the wake of Alys’ words. The sudden physical contact broke her out of that, she jolted, blinked, swayed away almost instinctively. But Rika followed, grinning rather like a cat toying with her prey.

“W-whatever do you mean?” the girl managed to stammer out, her cheeks coloring.

“It’s a collaborative process, Cheryl.” Rika let her voice flow, turn silken as she regarded the other woman with bedroom eyes. “You’re in on it, for now. You _could_ just walk away, end up being a paragraph and little else… but something tells me that wouldn’t be enough for you. You could be a whole chapter all to yourself, Cheryl.”

“If you wanted,” Alys added, feeling a need to temper Rika’s forwardness. “It’s a very _flexible_ tale, Cheryl.”

“Because the characters are, too.” Rika bit her lip, looked almost vulnerable. “At least, the ones we’re writing are. Can you be flexible too, I wonder?”

“C-can I be…” Cheryl squeaked, turned her head from one woman to the other. “You can’t m-mean…”

“Come on, didn’t you know what sort of characters you were dealing with?” Alys smiled, allowed predatory teeth to show past her lips. “Rogueish monster hunters from faraway lands, temporarily here in your little town and bound for parts unknown? What did you _think_ we’d want to do when we found a little cutie like you?”

“Cutie…” The word echoed on Cheryl’s lips as though it had come from far away, a thought that was novel and new, something she was still turning over in her mind. Her blush was becoming positively nuclear now.

“And from the way you’ve been looking at us,” Alys added, tugging the young woman’s mind forward with new momentum, “I think you’ve been secretly hoping you were in _that_ kind of a story…”

Here, she rose, in a way that left her looming over Cheryl, for just a moment, long enough to see the innkeeper’s eyes widen, innocent saucers shining with confused feelings. Alys sidled up to her, opposite Rika, and sat close enough that there was nowhere else for the young woman to go, sandwiched between two whole new chapters of her own story.

There was no hiding what was happening now, and so Alys let one hand stray onto Cheryl’s thigh. Rika, picking up on the signals, placed her head on Cheryl’s shoulder, her mouth angled toward the other woman’s ear, and from it Alys could hear a low and sensual whisper, a silvery stream of words and promises and ideas that flowed and flowed, never letting up. They seemed to build up slowly in Cheryl’s mind, dammed up behind those pretty eyes, filling her with all the ideas that Rika wished to impart.

“Can you imagine it?” Alys took up residence at the other ear, purring her own flirtations into the innkeeper, her voice tantalizing and soft. “We’re technically aliens, you know. Right here in this room with you, wondering what sort of character you are. How you kiss. What you taste like. What you look like when you... _cum_.”

Alys could feel the woman melt between them by degrees, parts of her tensing as others relaxed, the things they two were whispering to her tracing new, erotic patterns on the surface of her mind, the expression on her face. She couldn’t really hear what Rika was saying - much of it wasn’t for her, anyway - but occasionally Alys would giggle in amusement as her girlfriend would say something that made Cheryl turn to look at her, alternately shocked or… hungry, in a way. Needy.

That was how competitions were born.

“You’re still here.” Not to be outdone, Alys let her lips brush the delicate lobe of Cheryl’s ear, her words like silk. “My girlfriend and I have been saying some awfully dirty things to you, and you’re still here. Not at all appropriate for a proper small town girl… maybe you _are_ the right sort of character for us, girl…”

Cheryl shivered, and Alys took the opportunity to glide the palm of her hand up the woman’s midsection, starting below her ribs and moving, slowly and sensuously upward, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to. But she didn’t, leaning into the touch seemingly by instinct, allowing Alys to draw her fingers upward, over her body, skating just momentarily over the curved underside of her breast before pulling away. Simultaneously, Rika’s hand was at the small of Cheryl’s back, going low where Alys went high, lingering in the space just above her backside.

“So are we gonna write a chapter, pretty girl?” Rika purred, clenching her fingers _just_ above her ass, lighting up nerves desperate for touch. Cheryl inhaled sharply, her lips parted.

“I promise you, we do not use pens,” Alys added, with a wink and a waggle of her tongue that would, she hope, leave no doubt as to what they _would_ use.

Cheryl looked back and forth between the women on either side of her, not seeming to know what to say or do...but then, in a sudden moment of decision and assertiveness, she surged forward, and locked her lips to Rika's. Alys grinned a little as she watched the pretty little lady kiss her girlfriend, feeling a remarkable lack of the jealousy she would have thought would accompany the sight. Cheryl was a cute, mousy, shy girl, but it looked like she had a little fire in her, deep down. Perhaps dreams of adventure weren't the only thing she spent her days fantasizing about!

Well, watching was fun, but Alys knew something that was a lot more enjoyable: taking part. She reached out and gently grabbed Cheryl, pulling her away from Rika's lips, and replacing them with her own. The innkeeper let out a startled little squeak - she was obviously still getting used to this idea of multiple lovers wishing to take their satisfaction of her, but that was fine; Alys had a great enjoyment for guiding pretty girls through new experiences!

Cheryl was a bit clumsy as a kisser, mostly just mashing her lips against Alys's, but that was neither a surprise nor a problem. Isolated as this village was and disinterested as the girl seemed to be with her surroundings, it was to be expected that her kisses would start off as those of a woman who has observed but never personally enjoyed them. The important thing, and what pleased Alys to find, was that Cheryl was an eager and fast learner, and as Alys showed through example the motions of a good kiss, the right moment and way to introduce one's tongue into the fray, Cheryl followed suit. She was no Rika, of course, but her eagerness more than made up for her inexperience, and Alys found great enjoyment in it.

As Cheryl and Alys kissed, Rika ran her hands along Cheryl’s back, and down to the hem of her shirt. She tugged it upwards, and Alys and Cheryl had to reluctantly break the kiss to get it off. Cheryl blushed as her shirt was pulled over her head, and on instinct, her hands came up to try to cover herself, but Alys gently laid her own hands upon them, and pushed them down with a smile. Cheryl gulped, but accepted Alys's desire to see her. It wouldn’t have done much good to try to cover herself, anyways, with her full figure.

And look Alys did, licking her lips hungrily as she took Cheryl in, and Rika did the same. The innkeeper's breasts were sizeable and pleasantly rounded, nicely proportioned to her figure, her bra just barely fitting them within. Alys's attention was also drawn to her belly, which possessed an attractive, soft protruded curve. Cheryl's plump and soft proportions were such an enticingly sharp contrast to the sleek and tougher forms of most women Alys had experience with; on Motavia, being lean was just a fact of life, and so Cheryl had an exotic allure that Alys could not help but moisten at taking in.

“Now there's a sight that almost makes all the ice worth it,” Alys remarked, giving a small whistle of appreciation. Cheryl's blush brightened.

“But...I’m so average! And you two are so beautiful,” the girl replied, almost in a whisper.

“We are pretty sexy,” Rika agreed with a grin. “But you shouldn't be so modest. You're so lovely and curvy! Oh, I love curvy women...” She gave a tiny shudder as she practically cooed these words, and Alys finally felt a twinge of jealousy...but, surprisingly, not at Rika's appreciation for a body type unlike her own. Rather, Alys found herself feeling jealous that Rika could find such enjoyment in even just looking on a beautiful woman that she could derive physical pleasure from it. Alys's girlfriend actually sounded like she did when Alys played with her!

Rika repositioned herself, getting behind Cheryl and unsnapping her bra. Cheryl let out a gasp, perhaps from the anticipation of being truly undressed, or perhaps from the pleasant sensation of Alys pressing her lips against Cheryl's belly button, gently suckling the woman's navel, and plumbing it with her tongue. Rika pulled the bra away as she gently pushed Cheryl’s arms aside, letting her remove it completely.

With the garment out of the way, Rika tilted Cheryl’s head to the side, and laid a sensuous kiss against her neck, and then several more down, sweeping a line down to her collar. "Rika!" Cheryl gasped in delight. Alys, taking advantage of the sudden distraction, moved up, and latched her lips onto one of Cheryl's nipples. Sucking hard, she heard the girl moan deeply in new happy shock. That moan was cut off halfway as Rika moved in, and suddenly captured Cheryl's lips with her own. The moan became a gasp, swallowed by Rika's deep kiss, and Cheryl's eyes closed in the pleasure of the liplock.

Yet almost before they had closed, they flew open, and Cheryl let out a startled squeak, which was also devoured by Rika's hungry passion, as Alys's lips left her nipple and were replaced with her thumb and forefinger, and gently squeezed between them. The attention taken from her once more, Rika removed her lips from Cheryl's, revealing that the woman was beginning to breath in rapid gasps of excited air, and instead began to slide her tongue slowly, sensually along Cheryl's generous back. The girl let out a shiver at the new sensation, and as she did, Rika's hand went to Cheryl's free breast and began to tweak her nipple there softly, slowly, so much differently than Alys's methods that the innkeeper squirmed and gasped, her body seeming almost uncomfortable with a dual and yet completely different set of sensations. Alys took this time to surge forward and take Cheryl's lips, darting her tongue into the woman's mouth before she could even register that there had been an invasion made. And yet, even Cheryl tried to respond, tried to caress Alys's tongue with her own, Rika's tongue finished its own mission, reaching the juncture between Cheryl's neck and shoulders, and she suddenly latched onto the sensitive area, and gripped the skin within her teeth like a mother cat grabbing hold of her kitten. Cheryl squealed at this sensation as Rika nibbled her tender flesh, and Alys's lips retreated with such speed that the squeal echoed into room freely, and was joined by another as Alys mimicked Rika's feline movements with the front of Cheryl's throat, a soft oral attack on both fronts. And yet, the second sound that escaped that embattled throat found itself cut off by yet another, as Alys and Rika simultaneously hardened their pull upon the girl's breasts, giving each nip a pinch that should have been painful, yet was so lost amidst a sea of endorphins and the adrenaline of constant happy little shocks that it was fully transformed to pleasure.

They went on like this for some minutes, over and over, each Motavian woman attacking a new, sensitive spot mere moments after the last sensation was initiated. Cheryl was caught helplessly amidst a pitching sea of foreplay that demanded her attention in a new direction every moment, that had her mind and body alternating their pleasured amazement back and forth between Rika and Alys every moment...foreplay that kept building, and feeling better, and better, and making her breath harder and faster, and eliciting one gasp after another, shudders and shivers over and over, her head turning from one side to another in overwhelmed sensuality and erotic confusion as she was claimed by kiss after kiss that only amounted to a distraction to lead to greater pleasures...until finally, after what seemed like an eternity of teasing and soft intensity, with Rika's teeth putting pleasant pressure on Cheryl's shoulders as her fingers rapidly flicked her nips, with Alys's finger gently probing Cheryl's mouth and her tongue striking as deep and savage into Cheryl's bellybutton as it could...Cheryl let out a scream, a scream of pleasure and of utter and abject shock at the fact that she had suddenly fallen over the edge. Her thick thighs clamped against one another as her pussy wept and clenched in desire of the phantom of pleasure that had set her off, and as she came, Alys's lips almost seemed to leap up from her navel to her mouth, and softly but insistently bit at Cheryl's lower lip, and Rika's fingers sank unpleasantly into the woman's tits, her nails scratching her, breaking the skin ever so slightly. It was pain, a sparking sensation as totally unexpected as the orgasm itself, but as her body was sunk into the blissful sea of climax, all sensations in her mind were sunk in its pleasure, and all Cheryl felt at that moment from their actions was new, sharp pleasure added onto the rolling euphoria they had already overwhelmed her with.

As Cheryl came down from her climax, Alys released her, and Rika did the same. Alys flashed a wild, giddy smile at her lover, and Rika responded with the same expression. What an incredible rush it was, to feel a woman so completely in their hands! To move with a partner so synchronously to pleasure a woman that she had no idea where to look or what to feel...to completely overwhelm a woman with the joys that they could give her! Lost as she was with the warmth and pride of the moment, punctuated by Cheryl's moans and gasps, Alys could only wonder how, how in the world it could possibly be that people thought that it was a bad thing to bring new partners into a couple's sex life.

Where was the jealousy, the betrayal, the sense of lost propriety that she was supposed to feel? All she felt was pride that she and her girlfriend moved so perfectly together in yet another field, cooperatively overwhelming this woman as they cooperatively overwhelmed their foes in combat. Adultery was supposed to drive them apart? Alys hadn't felt so connected to and in love with Rika since the first time they had fought together as one!

"I...I never knew it could be like that," Cheryl whispered to them in awe, her climax finally done with. She looked down, eyes fixated on the dark stain between her pant legs. "I...I thought it had to be direct, that you'd have to...I never imagined just teasing could make me..." She shivered, lost in her amazement at what they had done to her. "It was just...incredible!"

Alys nodded, eyes shining with pride. "That's just it, Cheryl. When women are together...sex can be so much more than we could expect. There's so much more the pleasuring a woman than just zeroing in on the target..." She grinned. "But with that said...we're great at being 'direct,' as you say, too! In fact, let's show just how fun that can be!"

Rika and Alys both stood, and began to undress. Cheryl watched them, looking between them back and forth, her eyes darting from one part of her guests' bodies to another. She marveled at their toned and powerful bodies, a mix of envy and desire clear on her face. Alys smiled at Rika, who smiled back, knowing what she meant. It was nice to know that just as they enjoyed the exotic, plump beauty of her figure, she liked the slimmer beauty of theirs.

Both now naked, Alys reached out, pulling the innkeeper up to her feet. Rika wasted no time in pulling down Cheryl's pants and panties in one go. Her lips and thighs glistened with the remains of her arousal and orgasm from moments before, and this time it was Rika's turn to give a sexy whistle. Quickly, so much that Cheryl didn't even have time to blush at Rika's whistle, Rika pulled her down onto the bed again, and onto her lap. She semi-pinned Cheryl’s arms back, though the grip was loose enough that Cheryl could break free if she actually wanted to.

As Rika did this, Alys positioned herself right between the pudgy innkeeper's legs, and spread them wide. They'd had plenty of fun with foreplay...now it was time to go straight for the prize. She zeroed in on Cheryl's clit right away, and began licking and sucking at it eagerly.

Cheryl let out a low deep moan as she shuddered in pleasure, disbelieving that anything could feel so incredible. Rika actually had to tighten her grip a little to keep her from sliding out of the bed, such was the initial full-body jerk that Alys's tongue caused within the girl.

Alys brought a few fingers to Cheryl’s quim, and slipped them into her, as she kept licking her clit. Cheryl had certainly liked the synchronous pleasures that she and Rika had given her, so Alys worked her fingers in time with her tongue, delicately and skillfully stroking, prodding, and curling in tune with her tongue's movements. The pleasure was enough that Cheryl's arms broke free, but Rika felt no need to recapture them, for Cheryl lowered her hands down to take a firm grasp of Rika's hips below her own, attaining a more steady placement, so that she could thrust her round, luscious hips forward and back, seeking to force better, longer contact with the tongue and fingers pleasuring her. Her hands free now, Rika reached around, and held each of Cheryl's pillowy tits in her palms, kneading and playing with them. Cheryl moaned from the new stimulation, and it would be difficult to say which girl enjoyed the playful groping more.

Soon, the buildup was too much to hold off, and Cheryl squirmed and writhed as Alys licked and fingered her to her second orgasm at another's hand. She let out a shuddering combination of moan and shriek, and Alys relished the sound of a woman well-pleasured, as Rika took a considerably greater enjoyment from the way Cheryl twisted and squirmed in her lap, her ass grinding against the Newman's thighs and crotch in a decidedly pleasing manner.

Alys's tongue and fingers rode Cheryl's orgasm with her, as she put greater effort still into working the innkeeper, prolonging her throes of pleasure, until suddenly, before Cheryl was even finished with the first, another orgasm came crashing down on her, Alys having jumped her from one ecstatic plateau to a yet higher one. Now she truly did scream, and sank her fingers as hard as she could into Rika's thighs, and Rika's grip on her breasts became less about their mutual enjoyment, and more simply about holding the woman in place enough as she writhed to continue enjoying Alys's labors.

Finally, when Alys judged that Cheryl was coming down from her climax, she rose up, and leaned in to plant a kiss on Cheryl's gasping lips, giving her a taste of herself. Cheryl let out a moan of approval as Alys backed away and stood, and Alys grinned. It seemed Cheryl agreed: she had one tasty pussy!

“Looks like the great Hunter Alys has done it again: another pleased and grateful client!” Rika giggled, as she helped Cheryl, who felt like she was made of gelatin at the moment, move off of her without totally collapsing. “But you know, Cheryl...Hunters don't work for free. Maybe it's time to pay her for a job well done, hm?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to look seductive and smooth, and just ending up looking cute instead.

“S...sure,” Cheryl agreed, still catching her breath but eager to return the pleasure she'd just enjoyed to the woman who had given it to her.

Alys wasn't about to say no to that! She returned to the bed, leaned back, and spread her legs wide. Cheryl leaned in, staring at her cunny with something like wide-eyed amazement.

Seeing that Cheryl seemed a bit overwhelmed, Rika shifted slightly so that her face was right next to Cheryl’s. “Just follow my lead,” she suggested, letting her tongue dart out and brush against her girlfriend’s clit. Alys moaned happily at the now familiar, but still incredible feeling.

Cheryl gulped, but put whatever anxiety she felt aside, and began copying Rika’s actions, her tongue darting out against Alys’s sensitive bud. The brunette groaned, playing it up just a little to encourage the inexperienced girl. It felt good, but she knew Cheryl could do better! Rika and Cheryl began to take turns, each giving a lick after the other, each getting a slightly different spot. Alys was pleased to find that Cheryl caught on quickly to what elicited better reactions from Alys, and soon Alys's moans were completely in earnest as the two women tag-teamed her clit.

Once Cheryl was licking away like an expert, Rika backed away slightly, saying, “I’m going to leave this to you.” Cheryl nodded, and kept at it on her own. Taking initiative, the innkeeper gave a small grunt as she shifted, fully planting her mouth over Alys’s mound, and for the first time slipping her tongue into her.

Alys moaned again, and her hands went to rest encouragingly on Cheryl's hair. Her clit was obviously the better source of pleasure, but there was always a unique enjoyment in feeling a woman's tongue explore the depth of her most intimate spaces.

Rika moved up, and lay next to Alys, their faces so close they almost touched. “She’s doing good, isn’t she?” she whispered with a smile.

Alys nodded. “Yeah, she’s...” She gasped and shuddered as Cheryl's tongue twisted in a particularly pleasing way.

Before she could complete that thought, Rika clamped her lips over hers, kissing Alys deeply. Taking hold of Alys's hand, she guided it to her crotch, as Rika also let her free hand drift down to Alys's. Each woman began to rub her fingers against her lover's clit, the saliva Cheryl had left on Alys moments before and the sweat she had left on Rika when the pink-haired girl had held her providing a delightful lubrication. Each woman moaned into their kiss.

Without letting her tongue slow down for even a moment, Cheryl reached over, and added her hand alongside Alys’s, slipping her fingers into Rika so she could stimulate her within as Alys covered her clit. Designed and blessed to be able to derive enough pleasure from her cunt to reach climax, Rika broke the kiss with an overwhelmed gasp, and her finger's movements against Alys became erratic and unpredictable. But that was okay, because Alys was by now so close...so close, that a few minutes later, the sight of Rika climaxing with a blissful mewl was enough to finally push Alys over, as well, and the two women began to lightly slap each other's pleasure buttons as orgasm washed over each, determined to push one another past that glorious brink multiple times. They came, and came again, and Alys even managed to mount a third orgasm atop the first two as Rika switched from painful, incredibly pleasurable slaps, to the even sharper-feeling delights of pinches.

Cheryl kept going through it all, not experienced enough to know when she should stop and not wanting to accidentally cut off any amount of these amazing women's pleasure. Finally, as her final climax faded, Alys pushed the girl away gently.

“That’s enough for me,” Alys told her breathlessly, “but I think Rika could still use a little attention!”

Caught up in the erotic energy far too deeply for anxiety any longer, Cheryl moved to Rika, burying her face in the woman's cunny. She was lapping and slurping away immediately. The suddenness of it caught Rika off guard, and she let out a surprised half-moan, half-yelp.

Alys watched intently as this girl they had only met today fucked her girlfriend, amazed once again to find that it inspired no jealousy in her whatsoever. Once you opened up to the idea, realized that love did not truly have any connection to a sexual monopoly...it was remarkably easy to accept, and even get into. If anything, teaming up with Rika to do one of Alys's favorite things in the world, show girls how wonderful a woman's touch was...it felt natural. Even right.

“Cheryl, come up here. I have a fun idea,” she told the innkeeper, licking her lips as the girl complied. “Rika’s ears are particularly sensitive, you know. I think she might really like it if we were to play with them a bit.” To demonstrate, Alys nipped at the edge of Rika’s ear, and her girlfriend moaned and bit her lip.

"Oh my gosh, that's so cute!” Cheryl gasped with delight, gently biting the other ear herself, and grinning as Rika moaned again, and shuddered.

They both began to work Rika's ears in earnest, nipping and kissing along their lengths, gently licking along them from one end to the other, and sucking on the tips. Rika was squirming and moaning in helpless pleasure, and Alys felt a thrill at seeing her girlfriend so reduced. She had just shared an intimate lover's secret with an outsider...and the result was that she could now bring a more complete happy pleasure to Rika than she ever could have alone!

Still teasing Rika’s ears, Alys began to run her hands along Rika's chest, down her belly, and to her pussy. Cheryl followed her example, and their hands met for a moment above Rika's core. As if they had met to discuss a plan for a joint attack, the women's hands separated, Alys’s going to slowly, luxuriously stroke Rika's clit with her thumb as she rubbed her fingers along her lips, and Cheryl's to meanwhile slip two her fingers slowly past those same lips into her, to gently explore her inner folds.

They fucked her gently, slowly, languidly, adding to her pleasure, but too effortlessly to ever drive her over if that were all she was feeling. But as they did, Alys and Cheryl intensified their assault on her ears, nibbling, sucking, licking harder and faster. It was little time before Rika seized up, and came, bucking hard and gasping as her unique erogenous zones were relentlessly attacked.

As the hurricane of pleasure within Rika subsided, Alys drew back, and brought her fingers, glistening with the slightly sweet juices of her girlfriend that she loved so much, to her mouth, licking them clean. Cheryl, meanwhile, caught both of the other women off guard as she moved in and kissed Rika boldly, deeply. Not to be outdone, Alys moved in as soon as they parted, claiming her girlfriend’s lips for her own, only to move right over to Cheryl mere seconds later.

Finally, all three women lay back down upon the bed, each one glowing with delight and satisfaction. Soon they would have to dress again, clean themselves, and poor Cheryl would be left with the innkeeper's task of cleaning up after her guests' fun...but for now, each simply lay, happily absorbed in her thoughts and emotions. Cheryl glowed with the joy of a new experience and the knowledge that she would be remembered by important, exotic travelers from distant lands, Alys glowed with the newfound knowledge and acceptance of the joys of a healthy, sexually open relationship, and, built as she was to relish physical pleasures above all other experiences, Rika glowed simply from the thrill of a great time had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is the blue-haired, unnamed innkeeper in Tyler: <https://78.media.tumblr.com/9b6f4bb334f960dbc5748d0134d753ef/tumblr_p3szlxOsa71tyci08o1_500.jpg>


End file.
